Birder, environmentalist and activist Mya-Rose Craig is an international force. In her moving memoir, Birdgirl, she chronicles her mother’s struggle with mental illness, and shares her passion for social justice and fierce dedication to preserving our planet. Meet Mya-Rose – otherwise known as “Birdgirl.” In her words: “Birdwatching has never felt like a hobby, or a pastime I can pick up and put down, but a thread running through the pattern of my life, so tightly woven in that there’s no way of pulling it free and leaving the rest of my life intact.” Birdgirl follows Mya-Rose and her family as they travel the world in search of rare birds and astonishing landscapes. But a shadow moves with them, too—her mother's deepening mental health crisis. In the face of this struggle, the Craigs turn to nature again and again for comfort and meaning. Each bird they see brings a moment of joy and reflection, instilling in Mya-Rose a deep love of the natural world. But Mya-Rose has also seen first-hand the reckless destruction we are inflicting on our fragile planet, as well as the pervasive racism infecting every corner of the world, leading her to campaign for Black, Indigenous, people of color. Joining the fight of today's young environmental activists, Mya-Rose shares her experiences to advocate for the simple, profound gift of nature, and for making it accessible to all, calling her listeners to rediscover the power of our natural world. Birder, activist, daughter: this is her story. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
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“Although the descriptions of her travels and countless interesting birds are eye-opening and fascinating, it’s the author’s sharp focus on how bird-watching became an important part of the family’s process of working with her mother’s mental illness that makes the text stand out from other birding memoirs… An excellent mix of travelogue, memoir, and advocacy.
— Kirkus, STARRED Review
The astuteness with which the 20-year-old writes about her early life will reassure readers that our future is in good hands.
— TIME MagazineIn her dynamic debut...Craig touches on her 2016 founding of the charity Black2Nature...sprinkles in background on endangered species and conservation efforts to save them, and offers something of a bird-watching 101 that covers techniques and explains the field’s jargon. This will inspire nature-minded readers.
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLYBirdgirl is an essential read for a new generation of birders and environmentalists. Author Mya-Rose Craig discovered her passion for birding at a young age, and her eloquent, poignant memoir is a stellar example of how spending time in nature is not only a hobby but a unique healer during challenging times.
— David Barrett, author of A Big Manhattan Year: Tales of Competitive Birding, @BirdCentralPark on TwitterBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!