Perhaps it was fate or destiny that brought Frankie O'Neill and Anne Ryan to Beauty Bay, a community of summer homes set in the foothills of Mt. Adams. Whatever the reason, they were there for different reasons. Frankie, an ornithologist, felt she had no other place to go than to her family cottage. With her academic career in tatters, no income and basically homeless she sought solace in the one place she had cherished memories of the family she had lost. Anne's husband's wealthy family also had a home in Beauty Bay. She, her husband and her young son were there for different reasons. Anne's musical career was on hold and she seemed to have lost the ability to create. In addition, her son had stopped speaking about a year and a half ago. While the two women had nothing in common, at least not on the surface, a friendship developed after Anne's son, Aiden, found his way into Frankie's cottage. It was there that the two women and Aiden formed a bond, thanks in part, to a young injured crow that Frankie had nursed back to health after an injury. CROW TALK, by Eileen Garvin, is a moving story that is told with sensitivity and compassion. Both protagonists are three-dimensional and their situations are vividly brought to life. The author skillfully brings forward their grief, tenuous family ties and guilt. Emotionally layered, the narrative is gripping. What I found fascinating are the beautiful and vivid descriptions of the story's setting and the fascinating details about the lives of crows as well as other birds. This places readers directly into the story. CROW TALK deals with serious life issues. Even so, it is also a story of hope and second chances. It is profound and moving. Highly recommended.
Nationally bestselling author of The Music of Bees Eileen Garvin returns with a moving story of hope, healing, and unexpected friendship set amidst the wild natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Frankie O’Neill and Anne Ryan would seem to have nothing in common. Frankie is a lonely ornithologist struggling to salvage her dissertation on the spotted owl following a rift with her advisor. Anne is an Irish musician far from home and family, raising her five-year-old, Aiden, who refuses to speak.
At Beauty Bay, a community of summer homes nestled on the shores of June Lake, in the remote foothills of Mount Adams, it’s off-season with most houses shuttered for the fall. But Frankie, adrift, returns to the rundown caretaker’s cottage that has been in the hardworking O'Neill family for generations—a beloved place and a constant reminder of the family she has lost. And Anne, in the wake of a tragedy that has disrupted her career and silenced her music, has fled to the neighboring house, a showy summer home owned by her husband's wealthy family.
When Frankie finds an injured baby crow in the forest, little does she realize that the charming bird will bring all three lost souls—Frankie, Anne, and Aiden—together on a journey toward hope, healing, and rediscovering joy. Crow Talk is an achingly beautiful story of love, grief, friendship, and the healing power of nature in the darkest of times.
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