‘Soul Friend’ book: a love letter to birds and nature

In the book “Soul Friend,” released last month by Blackwater Press, my friend Sheila McEntee writes movingly of her affinity for nature. She draws insights from her experiences observing flora and fauna whether hiking deep in the Appalachian woods or merely looking out the windows of her West Virginia home.

Sheila and I were classmates at the College of the Holy Cross and worked together on the student newspaper. We lost touch for a few decades but reconnected and got to do some birding together last fall.

The essays in “Soul Friend and Other Love Notes to the Natural World” span 20 years, during which Sheila chronicles the changes in her life and how she finds solace in her woodland rambles. Most of her essays focus on birds, but other creatures are featured, such as the bear that spent several weeks prowling her neighborhood.

Sheila is a patient and keen observer of nature, whether it’s a jabbering jay or a sharp-dressed jack-in-the-pulpit. Most of Sheila’s essays are set in West Virginia, with a few from the Chesapeake Bay area. Her themes, though, are universal.

My favorite chapters are the poignant title essay in tribute to a hairy woodpecker she honored by burying it, and the moving account of how a flock of Northern cardinals gathered in a tree after Sheila’s mother died.

As befits a Holy Cross English major, Sheila’s prose is elegant, with touches of the poetic. Her insights are thought-provoking and profound, and she adds dashes of humor and irony to good effect.

Her book is available from the publisher, on Amazon.com and elsewhere. Sheila blogs about her current experiences on her website, which also notes the series of public readings she’s doing to promote the book. She recently did a livestreamed interview with the Writers Association of Northern Appalachia.

I encourage my followers to check out “Soul Friend.” I hope you find it as moving as I have. 🦅