When Women Were Birds

From Goodreads:

"Brilliant, meditative, and full of surprises, wisdom, and wonder."—Ann Lamott, author of Imperfect Birds
"I am leaving you all my journals, but you must promise me you won't look at them until after I'm gone." This is what Terry Tempest Williams's mother, the matriarch of a large Mormon clan in northern Utah, told her a week before she died. It was a shock to Williams to discover that her mother had kept journals. But not as much of a shock as it was to discover that the three shelves of journals were all blank. In fifty-four short chapters, Williams recounts memories of her mother, ponders her own faith, and contemplates the notion of absence and presence art and in our world. When Women Were Birds is a carefully crafted kaleidoscope that keeps turning around the question: What does it mean to have a voice?

From Me:

May I borrow from Ann Lamott and say "Brilliant?  Meditative?  Full of surprises? Wisdom and Wonder?"

Because, it's all that.

I listened to this on audio, narrated by the author.  That's always a gamble; sometimes it's a winner, sometimes not---this time it was a WINNER!

Loved her narration.

I forget how much I love Terry Tempest Williams -- I live in the west, she writes about and understands the western landscape like no other.

I like birds--she LOVES and knows birds like no other.

I like contemplation-- this book is all about that.

I liked my mother -- she talks about a bond with our mothers that is so special and magical and unbreakable. (makes me shiver just thinking about it)

She does talk about her religion quite a bit in her writings, this book included,  and while I don't share the same views, she writes in such a way that  helps me to understand and appreciate her beliefs and traditions.  Likewise her activism and ecological viewpoints. 

Loved it.