12 Birds to Save Your Life, Charlie Corbett
12 Birds to Save Your Life, Charlie Corbett
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12 Birds to Save Your Life
Nature's Lessons in Happiness

Author: Charlie Corbett

Narrator: Charlie Corbett

Unabridged: 6 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 06/10/2021


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the healing power of nature through the stories of these characterful birds.

Can you recognise the cheerful chirrups of the house sparrow? A song thrush singing out at winter's darkest hour? Or the beautiful, haunting call of the curlew?

At a time of great anxiety and uncertainty, while coping with the untimely death of his mother, Charlie Corbett realised his perspective on life was slipping. In a moment of despair, he found himself - somewhat damp - lying on the side of a lonely hill staring up at a leaden sky, a melancholy drizzle seeping into his bones.

Suddenly he hears the song of a single skylark - that soaring, tinkling, joyous sound - and he is transported away from the drizzle and dark thoughts. Grounded by the beauty of nature, perspective dawns. No longer the leading role in his own private melodrama, but merely a minor part in nature's great epic.

Such is the power of these creatures to raise you from life's periodic depths. Through twelve characterful birds, Charlie show us that there is joy to be found in the very smallest of events - if we know where to look, and how to listen. From solitary skylarks to squabbling sparrows, he explores the place of these birds in our history, culture and landscape, noting what they look like and where you're most likely to meet them.

By reconnecting with the wildlife all around him, through learning to understand, love, and begin to move with the rhythms of the natural world outside his door, Charlie discovered nature's powerful ability to heal.

These birds can help you too. Every day.

© Charlie Corbett 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachelle on January 06, 2023

"It reminds me that we humans are not so very different from the birds at all. Home is the company we keep. And flocking together in hard times is how we survive." A very human look into how the natural world that surrounds us can help heal us. How if we take a deep breath and seek it out, peace can......more

Goodreads review by Sandra on March 17, 2022

It took me a while to get through this book to be honest. I put it down more than once with the intention of not finishing it. Then I adopted a one chapter at a time approach, out of respect for the life changing event that caused the author to write it. The name is a bit misleading for me, possibly......more

Goodreads review by Weronika L. Chrunik on October 22, 2024

Przyjemna w odbiorze książka z rodzinnym tłem i trudną codziennością, uczy doceniać i zauważać niezwykłość natury. Dodatkowy aspekt edukacji - nauka gatunków ptaków i ich cech.......more

Goodreads review by Eileen on August 02, 2021

12 birds to save your life is a true gem. I was drawn to this book after it popped up on my social media news feed from Penguin publishers. Initially I was drawn to it by its wonderful art work showing such beautiful images of all the birds featured in the book. Corbett eloquently weaves his own per......more

Goodreads review by Chelle on January 18, 2022

What a really lovely book. I loved the anecdotes at the start of each chapter about the different birds and their connotations and characters we have placed onto them. It was interesting to hear about how nature played a monumental role in helping him with his grief, depression and anxiety.......more


Quotes

A lyrical and life-affirming book that teaches us as much about birds as it does ourselves - a balm for the soul Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

Totally absorbing and completely engaging on so many levels... Charlie has opened my eyes to the constant joy of the sights and sounds of the birds that surround us. It is a book that really will save lives Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes

An enchanting book. I knew at once this was something special Lady Glenconner

This is no ordinary ornithology, but one that portrays the very essence of each bird through a very human lens and shows us that both solace and joy can be ours by merely observing with an open eye and an open heart John Wright, author of The Forager's Calendar

A wonderful blend of the lyrical and practical. Charlie shows us that our relationship with birds and the natural world is not only healing, but an important part of our cultural heritage worth protecting Adam Henson

From dawn choruses to the first chiffchaff calls of spring, Charlie Corbett shows how the changing seasons can bring happy natural rhythms to times of hardship National Geographic Traveller

This is no misery memoir . . . The story moves apace to its uplifting conclusion, that Nature is the best medicine Country Life

There is much to be admired Countryfile

An important book, woven with the countryside and catharsis. Also instructive into which birds to look for and how to recognise their calls and song. Written by a true countryman and loving son The Field

Honest, uplifting and written from the heart, this is a rediscovery of life inspired by a re-discovery of birds