I love to read. I find books are wonderful friends. And for years I have fallen asleep with a book in my hand. I am a bit like Somerset Maugham, who said he found even the phone book interesting, but I also believe in finishing a book only if it is of value. Bad writing is just not tolerable.
I want to tell you about a gem of a story about an owl -- Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien. Wesley is a wild owl, reared from a few days old by biologist Stacey. For 19 years they share everything - really everything! Wesley is Stacey's dearest friend, and the truly moving part of their story is the deep emotional bond that they share. Wesley becomes adept at communicating with Stacey through facial expressions, chortles and screeches, coos and a wide variety of owl sounds while Stacey finds through human language a way to speak with Wesley.
Their lives are an auditory and sensory understanding quite outside the ordinary limitations we assume animals and people to be capable of. Jane Goodall is Stacey's inspiration, and she shares Jane's belief that "animals are more sentient and intelligent than we had ever imagined." She really made me think about that. Imagine if... and then, what if it's true?
Spend a few nights with this book and learn "the way of the owl" and how ideas about animals and humans and their capacity to relate are changing. I think you'll find it a very good read.
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