Father and daughter were close his loss capsizes her sense of herself in the world and haunts her throughout the book. The memoir thread is anchored in Macdonald’s response to the unexpected death of her father on a London street. On the back cover of Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk, which first appeared in 2016, a quote from The Economist’s review describes the book as “One part memoir, one part gorgeous evocation of the natural world, and one part literary meditation.” Having read other books about birds-not only Audubon Society compilations but also volumes centered on the peregrine, the swallow, the eagle, and the osprey-I’d argue that Macdonald’s book fits that description aptly, especially since those “parts” are evocatively and often lyrically combined throughout. Instead, a writer might combine a range of literary and academic and journalistic elements into a unique blend. For example, if one considers writing a book about a bird, one needn’t be confined to a scientifically ornithological presentation or a conscientiously reportorial record or a tightly observant narrative. She lived in the present only, and that was my refuge.Ĭontemporary creative nonfiction allows writers the opportunity to generate a unique-even idiosyncratic-approach to their work.

There could be no regret or mourning in her. The hawk was a fire that burned my hurts away.

Helen macdonald goshawk