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On Valentine’s Day 1985, biologist Stacey O’Brien met a four-day-old baby barn owl – a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O’Brien, then a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together.
As Wesley grew, O’Brien snapped photos of him at every stage, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. When O’Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal.
Wesley is a thoroughly engaging, heart-warming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty.
As Wesley grew, O’Brien snapped photos of him at every stage, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. When O’Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal.
Wesley is a thoroughly engaging, heart-warming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty.
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Reviews
Perfect
Wesley the Owl is beautiful, funny, transcendental, fascinating and powerful. I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I LOVE Wesley the Owl! Stacey O'Brien has captured the essence of the soul of an unforgettable owl. This book is destined to become a classic, and will deepen importantly the way we understand birds.
A heartfelt journey of life and love with one of nature's wild creatures, Wesley the Owl is a must read story of faith, compassion and selfless devotion.
Funny, frequently moving and with incredibly insight ... Wesley is ultimately a tale of true friendship, which reveals a woman as remarkable as her barn owl.
...stunning, unforgettable. Read this book and you will never see owls, or humans, in the same light again.
This fun book reminded me of Marley & Me but with wings. Warm, weird, and wonderful, Wesley the Owl is proof that man's best friend sometimes has feathers.