We Should All Be Birds, Brian Buckbee

This, for me, was an example of how the mind can completely ruin your life if you let it.  This memoir is raw. Its an exploration of chronic illness, grief, and the unexpected salvation found in a humble pigeon. Stricken by a mysterious and debilitating illness (eventually diagnosed as ME/CFS) that left him constantly isolated and tormented by unrelenting headaches, Buckbee’s former life as an adventurous athlete and teacher dissolved. The book begins at his lowest point, grieving the loss of his health and a painful breakup, when he encounters an injured baby pigeon he names Two-Step. Taking the bird in transforms his Montana home into an unlikely bird rehabilitation center. This act of caregiving provides him with a vital lifeline, focusing his diminishing energy and attention outward rather than inward.

The narrative structure itself mirrors Buckbee's fragmented mental state, as he was often unable to read or write, dictating the story to his editor, Carol Ann Fitzgerald. This adds a unique layer of transparency, occasionally revealing the back-and-forth between the authors as they shape the narrative. Its depressing as Buckbee’s complete world view is depression, constantly shifting between moments of profound loss to small joy found in the behavior of his feathered companions. The memoir details the frustration, dismissal, and despair that accompany an invisible disability.