Birdgirl, written by birding (aka birdwatching) prodigy Myra-Rose Craig, who ticked 5,000 species (my count is under a thousand!) by her mid teens, who has scoured all seven continents (she adds Madagascar as an “eighth continent”), and whose Birdgirl blog underpins this memoir, is an interesting life account that deserves a greater readership than I suspect it will obtain. The author manages with aplomb the task of hailing birdwatching as a holy activity at the same time as unfolding her complex, fraught life with a bipolar mother, and she writes smoothly (if perhaps with not enough flair). Birders like me will relish the incredible stories of amazing species sightings (at such a young age!), and I personally enjoyed reading about her increasing awareness of her ability to carve out an advocacy role for non-white representation in birding and environmentalism. Non-birders should heed my advice and try Birdgirl, perhaps viewing it as a window into a different, radiant kind of obsession.
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