Wesley the Owl: Summary and book reviews of Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien, plus links to an excerpt from Wesley the Owl and a biography of Stacey O'Brien.
Wesley the Owl The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
by Stacey O'Brien
Hardcover: Aug 2008,
240 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2009,
256 pages.
On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien first met a four-day-old baby barn owl -- a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet's ability to fly was forever compromised, and he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley the Owl is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together.
With both a tender heart and a scientist's eye, O'Brien studied Wesley's strange habits intensively and first-hand -- and provided a mice-only diet that required her to buy the rodents in bulk (28,000 over the owl's lifetime). As Wesley grew, she snapped photos of him at every stage like any proud parent, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, macho adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. Stacey and Wesley's bond deepened as she discovered Wesley's individual personality, subtle emotions, and playful nature that could also turn fiercely loyal and protective -- though she could have done without Wesley's driving away her would-be human suitors!
O'Brien also brings us inside the prestigious research community, a kind of scientific Hogwarts where resident owls sometimes flew freely from office to office and eccentric, brilliant scientists were extraordinarily committed to studying and helping animals; all of them were changed by the animal they loved. As O'Brien gets close to Wesley, she makes important discoveries about owl behavior, intelligence, and communication, coining the term "The Way of the Owl" to describe his inclinations: he did not tolerate lies, held her to her promises, and provided unconditional love, though he was not beyond an occasional sulk. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal.
Enhanced by wonderful photos, Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heartwarming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty. It is sure to be cherished by animal lovers everywhere.
BOOK REVIEWS
BookBrowse
O'Brien's story of her profound friendship with a barn owl is
strange, exciting, lovely and important. A much-needed corrective to our
sanitized, human-centric view of animals as machines or as pets that can be
trained to perform stupid tricks, Wesley the Owl reasserts the powerful
and sometimes icky otherworldliness and breathtaking complexity of nature.
Prepare to be enlightened, disgusted, delighted and humbled. (Reviewed by Jo Perry). Full Review (843 words).
Media Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This memoir will captivate animal lovers.
Don Kroodsma, author of The Singing Life of Birds: An Intimate Guide to the Private Lives of Birds: How, When, Why, and Where Birds Sing, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massechusetts, Amherst.
The best of love stories between two intelligent beings, told (by the human) with good humor and remarkable insights into the mind of an owl- I couldn't put it down.
Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado; author of The Emotional Lives of Animals, Animals Matter, and Wild Justice: Reflections on Empathy, Fair Play, and Morality in Animals
A heart-wrenching and heart-felt story of the deep, reciprocal, and enduring emotional bonds that developed between Stacey O'Brien and her long time friend. It's an inspiring example of how animals are able to reveal to us who they really are and who we really are when we allow them to express themselves openly and safely. Profoundly passionate and personal, this remarkable book shows how we can all increase our compassion footprint in a human-dominated world. Read it and share widely. I sure will.
Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig
I love Wesley the Owl! Not since Konrad Lorenz have I read such an honest, vivid, and revealing account of the rich and complex life of an individual bird. Stacey O'Brien has captured the essence of the soul of an unforgettable owl. Affectionate, quirky, joyous and wise, Wesley shows us the Way of the Owl - the way to God and grace. This book is destined to become a classic, and will deepen importantly the way we understand birds.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Linda Freedman wesley the owl This was a very interesting book and I loved the owl. I felt like he was right next to me as I was reading this book. I could relate to Stacey as we have a talking Mynah bird as a pet. He learns a lot from us and is teaching us new things every... Read More
Rated of 5
by Sharon A book not to be forgotten This book engulfed me. I laughed, I cried, and I would talk about it to everyone I encountered for weeks afterwards. Over a year later, I made it my book club selection as I found the book so memorable and refreshing from the numerous others I... Read More
War, natural disaster, reckless gods and the recognition of impermanence in the world are just some of the threads that AS Byatt weaves into this most timely of books. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, this is a landmark.
A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, exploring how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high.
Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker's Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
I read The Healing in two sittings it is a fascinating story of plantation life at the beginning of the Civil War. Granada, a slave newborn child...
read more
The Uncommon Reader is a novella by novelist and playwright, Alan Bennett. The story starts with the Queen coming across the mobile library van...
read more
Amazon to open bricks and mortar store in Seattle(Feb 07 2012) Last week, the word in the blogosphere was that Amazon was considering opening a bricks-and-mortar store. Over the weekend goodereader.com added substance to...
Full Story
Arizona bills Amazon for $53 million in uncollected sales tax(Feb 06 2012) The ongoing sales tax battle between many US states and large online retailers, most notably Amazon, continues with a thrust from Arizona which, last week,...
Full Story
(843 words).
Don Kroodsma, author of The Singing Life of Birds: An Intimate Guide to the Private Lives of Birds: How, When, Why, and Where Birds Sing, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massechusetts, Amherst.
of 5
by Linda Freedman
RSS feed
