Flyaway - by Suzie Gilbert (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

Suzie Gilbert discovered her true calling when she began working at a local animal hospital. Eventually, she started bringing abused and unwanted parrots home, and volunteering at a local raptor rehabilitation center. From there it was a short flight to her ultimate commitment: Flyaway, Inc., the nonprofit wild bird rehabilitation center she ran out of her own home.

With heart and delightful wit, Gilbert chronicles daily life in her household-cum-bird-hospital, and recounts the resulting chaos as she, her husband, and their two young children struggled to live in a home where parrots shrieked Motown songs and recuperating herons took over the spare bathroom. Flyaway is a remarkable story of compassion for and dedication to beautiful creatures--and the importance of pursuing even the most unlikely of dreams.

Review Quotes

"In a time when habitat conservation groups face competing priorities, the argument is often made that resources spent on the rehabilitation of individual animals is misguided. In this unique and engaging memoir, Suzie Gilbert shows us the flaws in such a view, and reveals in elegant prose how every creature has value, and how a voice for one is voice for all." - Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds
"Flyaway is not only about rehabilitating birds. It is also filled with healthy family relationships. ... Gilbert's ethics and talent for writing have made her the perfect author to bring the world of wildlife rehabilitation to the reader." - Wilson Journal
"A testament to the challenges we all face when we love another being. Gilbert takes you to the front lines of the battle to save the most delicate and vulnerable of wild animals, and courageously bares her soul about the pain of not being able to let go when they fly away. This memoir will be fascinating to all who are interested in the human experience and the human spirit." - Stacey O'Brien, author of Wesley the Owl
"Fascinating . . . . A testament to the challenges we all face when we love another being." - Stacey O'Brien, author of Wesley the Owl
"Funny and insightful. . . . Most of us see birds through binoculars and windows. Suzie Gilbert has entered their lives." - Carl Zimmer, author of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life and Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea
"Readers will acquire education plenty from Gilbert's discussions of the creatures she encounters and the challenges rehabbers face." - Kirkus Reviews
"Charms, delights, and educates while providing a fascinating tale of love and devotion to the feathered creatures that share our increasingly crowded world." - Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me
"Unique and engaging . . . [Gilbert] shows reveals in elegant prose how every creature has value, and how a voice for one is voice for all." - Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds
"Gilbert's prose reads easily, ushered along by her clear, knowledgeable explanations of biology, medicine, natural history, nutrition, and animal behavior. . . . Strongly recommended." - Henry T. Armistead, Library Journal
"This is a delightful must-read for anyone who has ever taken home an injured Robin, nursed a Sparrow back to health, mourned the passing of an Owl killed on the highway, or merely dreamed of restoring an injured bird to free flight. It charms, delights, and educates while providing a fascinating tale of love and devotion to the feathered creatures that share our increasingly crowded world." - Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me
"Most of us see birds through binoculars and windows. Suzie Gilbert has entered their lives. Flyaway is the funny and insightful chronicle of how she became a rehabber, helping birds return to their wild ways." - Carl Zimmer, author of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life and Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea