Birds by the Shore

Jennifer Ackerman revisits her memories of living on the coast of Delaware in this audiobook reissue and update of a 1995 collection of essays. Her voice carries a charming sense of wistfulness and wonder as she explores the seashore. It is about so much more than birds. Ackerman observes the crabs, worms, snakes, marshes, trees, tides, storms, and weather as well as the birds that are dependent on life at the shore. Her personal experiences are intertwined with the landscape as she remembers her mother's death from cancer, her father's illness, and her first pregnancy. Ackerman's grace and love for the natural world filter through into her performance, and she instills a sense of place in the listener, although it comes with a tinge of fear for the environment. A.B. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine