

Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer’s eccentric falconry.

Projecting herself “in the hawk’s wild mind to tame her” tested the limits of Macdonald’s humanity and changed her life. White’s chronicle The Goshawk to begin her challenging endeavor. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T.H. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk’s fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. An experienced falconer-Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood-she’d never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. When Helen Macdonald’s father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated.
