"The Comfort of Crows is a howling love letter to the world, the story of what we''ve lost and what we can save and the abundance of wonder in our own backyard. Margaret Renkl is a singular, spectacular writer, and this book, like life itself, is a cause for celebration." --Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House "Reading Margaret Renkl always connects me more deeply to the natural world and to my own heart. The Comfort of Crows is an elegy, a provocation, and above all a love letter to the magnificence that still surrounds us, if only we are awake enough to look. I want to press it into the hands of everyone I know." --Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance " Margaret Renkl has the mind of a naturalist and the soul of a poet. Let this magnificent devotional be your eye-opening, heart-expanding daily companion, and it will change how you see the world." --Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter "This is a lovely prayer book centered on plants and animals, an important reminder of grace and of the necessity of placing public green spaces in reach of everyone.
" --Catherine Raven, author of Fox & I "Luminous . Elegant, lucid essays follow the changing seasons, Renkl musing on the migratory and nesting patterns of birds, the encroaching effects of climate change, her own evolving family structure, and the incremental shifts of flora, fauna, and light. The Comfort of Crows celebrates the beauty and durability of nature''s age-old cycles and the habits of wild creatures, and it urges human beings to care for these same creatures--before some of them disappear altogether." --Shelf Awareness "Renkl invites readers along on a year of loving outdoor observations in this gently moving memoir. This gorgeous reflection on humanity''s symbiotic relationship with the outdoors will transform the way readers interact with their own backyards." --Publishers Weekly "This triumph of a book gives us a charming and wise friend to guide us over the course of a year, but I am certain Margaret Renkl''s enchanting voice will echo for lifetimes to come. The Comfort of Crows is an instant classic, not just for the planet, but--and most importantly--for our hearts too." --Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders "Insightful .
Among the touching and relatable moments that nature lovers will appreciate are Renkl''s memories of catching tadpoles in spring with her brother as a child in Alabama, the sound of summer thunderstorms and cicadas, and the unparalleled beauty of autumn light, ''the loveliest light there is''. A welcome escape from the hectic world." --Kirkus "Sprinkled liberally throughout are ''praise songs'' . These little extras, just like the epigrams at the beginning of each essay, pack an extra punch into this tidy volume. Readers can return to these pages often, through the seasons of their own lives." --Booklist Praisefor Late Migrations A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book ClubPick * Winner of the 2020 Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award *Finalist for the Southern Book Prize Nameda "Best Book of the Year" by the NewStatesman * New York Public Library * Chicago Public Library * Foreword Reviews * Washington Independent Review of Books AnIndie Next Selection * Indies Introduce Selection * Southern Independent BooksellersAlliance (SIBA) Okra Pick "Beautifully written, masterfully structured, and brimmingwith insight into the natural world, LateMigrations can claim its place alongside Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and ADeath in the Family . It has the makings of an American classic.
" --Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House "[Renkl] is the most beautiful writer! I love this book.It''s about the South, and growing up there, and about her love of nature andanimals and her wonderful family." --ReeseWitherspoon "Reflective and gorgeous . I have recommended this bookto everybody that I know. It is a beautiful book about love, and [how] . tofind the beauty in the little things." --JennaBush Hager, TODAY Show "A vivid and original essay collection . This is thekind of writing that makes me just want to stay put, reread and savoreverything about that moment.
" --MaureenCorrigan, NPR''s Fresh Air "Equal parts Annie Dillard and Anne Lamott with a healthysprinkle of Tennessee dry rub thrown in." -- New York Times Book Review "A compact glory, crosscutting between consummate familymemoir and keenly observed backyard natural history. Renkl''s deftjuxtapositions close up the gap between humans and nonhumans and revive ourlost kinship with other living things." --RichardPowers, author of The Overstory "Magnificent . Conjure your favorite place in thenatural world: beach, mountain, lake, forest, porch, windowsill rooftop?Precisely there is the best place in which to savor this book." --NPR.org " Late Migrations has echoes of Annie Dillard''s The WritingLife --with grandparents, sons, dogs and birds sharing the spotlight, it''s awitty, warm and unaccountably soothing all-American story." -- People "[Renkl] guides us through a South lush with bluebirds,pecan orchards, and glasses of whiskey shared at dusk in this collection ofprose in poetry-size bits; as it celebrates bounty, it also mourns the profoundlosses we face every day.
" -- O, the Oprah Magazine "This warm, rich memoir might be the sleeper of the summer.[Renkl] grew up in the South, nursed her aging parents, and never once lost herlove for life, light, and the natural world. Beautiful is the word, beautifulall the way through." -- Philadelphia Inquirer "This is the story of grief accelerated by beauty and beautymade richer by grief. Like Patti Smith in Woolgathering , Renkl aligns natural history with personal historyso completely that the one becomes the other. Like Annie Dillard in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek , Renkl makes, ofa ring of suburbia, an alchemical exotica." -- The Rumpus "The miniature essays in LateMigrations approach with modesty, deliver bittersweet epiphanies, and feellike small doses of religion." -- Literary Hub "Renkl captures the spirit and contemporary culture of theAmerican South better than anyone.
" -- BookPage ,A 2019 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book "[A] magnificent debut . Renkl instructs that even amidlife''s most devastating moments, there are reasons for hope and celebration.Readers will savor each page and the many gems of wisdom they contain." -- PublishersWeekly (starred review) "[ Late Migrations ]is shot through with deep wonder and a profound sense of loss. It is a finefeat, this book. Renkl intimately knows that ''this life thrives on death'' andchooses to sing the glory of being alive all the same." -- Booklist "A series of redolent snapshots and memories that seem tohalt time. [Renkl''s] narrative metaphor becomes the miraculous order ofnature .
in all its glory and cruelty; she vividly captures ''the splendorof decay.''" -- Kirkus Praise for Graceland,At Last Winnerof the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay * Winner ofthe Southern Book Prize * An Indie Next Selection A Garden & Gun RecommendedRead for Fall 2021 * A Country Living Best Book of Fall 2021 * A Literary Hub MostAnticipated Book of 2021 "[ Graceland, At Last ]is Renkl at her most tender and most fierce. Renkl''s gift, just as it wasin her first book Late Migrations , isto make fascinating for others what is closest to her heart. What risesin me after reading her essays is [John] Lewis'' famous urging to get in goodtrouble to make the world fairer and better. Many people in the South are doingjust that--and through her beautiful writing, Renkl is among them." --NPR "In this luminous collection, Renkl delivers smart,beautifully crafted personal and political observations. I keep this booknearby to revisit the humanity and hope in its pages." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune "Amazing and inspiring.
[ Graceland,At Last ] will help you figure out concrete things you can do to save theplanet." --Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House