When writer Hannah Bourne-Taylor moves to Ghana with her husband to enable him to take up a new job, she is separated from her friends, family and everything familiar. The terms of her visa also prevent her from working, largely limiting her to spending her time in and around the family home. When she finds a baby swift fallen from its nest, however, she discovers a new focus…

Fledgling is so much more than a book about nature, enjoyable as those parts of the text are. It is a frank account of mental health and the need that we all have to find our identity and purpose in life.

A moving and beautifully written book. Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Aurum, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This nature loving author writes a very open memoir about her struggling mental health as she moves from the UK to Ghana to support her Husband. However she is not allowed to work under restrictions as a trailing spouse and as someone who has had to leave a career, close family and good social life she finds it increasingly difficult- the isolation and loneliness not knowing anyone, the different climate, terrain and her Husbands long working hours.
Then one day on the startling discovery of a small fledgling on the floor Hannah realises this little innocent bird is totally dependant on her for survival and she sets about researching and hand rearing it which gives her days meaning, routine and a purpose. This bird would be the first of a small collection she goes on to rescue with another bird and dogs.
It is a honest, raw & emotionally heartwarming account as she often feels torn between two Countries, two sets of priorities and animals ( Shoebill the street dog).
The writing is so easy to follow and her family and Husband all well portrayed. I found it so endearing how she credited her love of animals to her parents and how she then managed to have that same effect on her Husband who warmed more and more to them, got involved and ending up doing the big release in to the wild and talking her in to another rescue dog!.
By the end I was totally choked up.
A book I have already recommended to many others and certainly will go on doing so especially to anyone with a love for nature.
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

'Fledgling' is a book for every animal and nature lover.

The heart of Bourne-Taylor's story is the bond she forges with a baby mannikin finch after rescuing him and intending to raise him to adulthood. Around this, she weaves a narrative of being lonely, of mental health struggles, and of finding solace in nature and other beings. Her writing is graceful, poetic without being overblown, and her experiences of raising the finch are at turns delightful and heart-stopping.

In less skilled hands, the inclusion of other elements of the author's life in the book might have felt like padding. But as it is, 'Fledgling' works on more levels than just a simple story about raising a baby bird. It's about kindness, curiosity, and risking heartbreak to live a fuller life. It's about the recognition that we are who we are because of others around us - and not just human-others.

A book to treasure and to remember.

(With thanks to Quarto and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)