A lovely companion for your outdoor adventures . . . Divided by season, the journal offers a space for nature enthusiasts to make notes and observations each week of the year. To help guide readers, the journal also includes passages from The Comfort of Crows, as well as writing prompts based on questions Renkl explored during the same week each year. . . . While engaging with the natural world, she notes, you will likely encounter events that may be painful to witness. . . . Though often heartbreaking, these elements offer moments for contemplation and reflection.”—Kirkus
Praise for The Comfort of Crows:
“To savor something is to know you will lose it, and to cherish it all the more for that knowledge. That sense is the animating force behind Margaret Renkl’s astonishing The Comfort of Crows. . . . Its greatest strength is its central invocation: to pay attention. She implores us to recognize the fragile beauty of the world, not to slip into cynicism or despair.”—New York Times Book Review
“Above all, The Comfort of Crows is a full-throated ode to the hopefulness of regeneration. . . . It is a paean not just to the natural world, but to paying attention and doing one’s bit to nurture it.”—Wall Street Journal
“The Comfort of Crows is a howling love letter to the world, the story of what we’ve lost and what we can save and the abundance of wonder in our own backyard. Margaret Renkl is a singular, spectacular writer, and this book, like life itself, is a cause for celebration.”—Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House
“Reading Margaret Renkl always connects me more deeply to the natural world and to my own heart. The Comfort of Crows is an elegy, a provocation, and above all a love letter to the magnificence that still surrounds us, if only we are awake enough to look. I want to press it into the hands of everyone I know.”—Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance
“One of Renkl’s skills as a writer is to transfer her ability to perceive the nuances of the natural world, things most of us overlook, onto the page. In The Comfort of Crows . . . her powers of perception are on full display. . . . Paying attention to the living things in her backyard helps her cope with climate change, political strife and cultural upheaval—and she hopes it will help the reader, too.”—New York Times
“Whether describing bluebird nests or her own empty one, Renkl is part poetic prophet, part your down-home friend. In essays adorned by her brother’s art, she meditates on family, loss and nature under siege. ‘The world is full of song,’ she writes—wake up and listen!”—People
Many a plant or creature inspires Renkl’s appreciation, and as a result, our own. It is possible that after reading this deceptively simple, charming book, you will plant a chair in a . . . backyard and discover things you’ve never seen before. And what could be more buoying than that?”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“This triumph of a book gives us a charming and wise friend to guide us over the course of a year, but I am certain Margaret Renkl’s enchanting voice will echo for lifetimes to come. The Comfort of Crows is an instant classic, not just for the planet, but—and most importantly—for our hearts too.”—Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders
“Infused with empathy, The Comfort of Crows reminds us to treasure the living beings who surround us with each breath we take. Renkl’s insights root us within our world.”—BookPage (starred review)
“Luminous . . . Elegant, lucid essays follow the changing seasons, Renkl musing on the migratory and nesting patterns of birds, the encroaching effects of climate change, her own evolving family structure, and the incremental shifts of flora, fauna, and light. . . . The Comfort of Crows celebrates the beauty and durability of nature’s age-old cycles and the habits of wild creatures, and it urges human beings to care for these same creatures—before some of them disappear altogether.”—Shelf Awareness
“Renkl invites readers along on a year of loving outdoor observations in this gently moving memoir. . . . This gorgeous reflection on humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the outdoors will transform the way readers interact with their own backyards.”—Publishers Weekly
2024-06-21
An observation journal to accompany the author’s essay collectionThe Comfort of Crows.
In her acclaimed 2023 book, Renkl, who also wroteLate Migrations andGraceland, At Last, contemplated the changes taking place in her backyard in Nashville over the course of the four seasons, with a particular focus on the repeating patterns that occur in nature. Here, the author hopes to inspire others to “pay close, sustained attention to the natural world in whatever form you have access to it.” As Renkl notes, “Before I was a writer, I was an observer, and I still think of myself as an observer first. Every day I go outside and spend at least a little time tuning out the distractions and responsibilities of my life.” Divided by season, the journal offers a space for nature enthusiasts to make notes and observations each week of the year. To help guide readers, the journal also includes passages fromThe Comfort of Crows, as well as writing prompts based on questions Renkl explored during the same week each year. “In the process,” writes the author, “I hope you will fall in love with your wild neighbors the way I have fallen in love with mine.” While engaging with the natural world, she notes, you will likely encounter events that may be painful to witness, such as the bloody manifestations of the food chain, the effects of climate change, and human-caused habitat destruction. Though often heartbreaking, these elements offer moments for contemplation and reflection. Renkl also includes a resources section to assist beginning observers in identifying plants and animals found in their local areas, offering suggestions for related apps, field guides, and native plant databases. Renkl’s brother, Billy, also contributed to this project, creating the artwork found throughout the book.
A lovely companion for your outdoor adventures.
