Last week, I received an email from Washington State University Press telling me that Marvelous Wings had arrived from the printer. They were mailing my author copies the next day. I sat at my desk, staring at the wall, trying to take it all in. I drafted the opening essay in this book more than ten years ago.

The book’s essays follow birds across this remarkable corner of the world: chickadees moving through winter woods, thrushes returning from distant wintering grounds, swans crossing Washington skies. But the birds kept leading me beyond natural history. They made me think about what happens when we slow down and pay attention. Somewhere along the way, I began to realize that I wasn’t simply studying birds. I was building a relationship with the wild around me.

Essays asked something different of me. They required me to ask why an experience mattered, what I felt, and how it might connect to someone else’s life. I took writing classes at Hugo House and Fishtrap, began working with a writing coach, and chewed up draft after draft. And I discovered that learning to write essays was an incredible journey into something I’d always wanted to do.

I hope Marvelous Wings encourages readers to slow down, look more closely at the birds around them, and perhaps discover something about their own relationship with the wild. I’m excited to finally share it with you.

Learn more about Marvelous Wings: Reflections on Birds of the Pacific Northwest.