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A review by katiegilley
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
5.0
“Illness isolates; the isolated become invisible; the invisible become forgotten. But the snail….the snail kept my spirit from evaporating.”
“My bed was an island within the desolate sea of my room. Yet I knew that there were other people home-bound from illness or injury, scattered here and there throughout rural towns and cities around the world. And as I lay there, I felt a connection to all of them. We, too, were a colony of hermits.”
“A last look at the stars and then to sleep. Lots to do at whatever pace I can go. I must remember the snail. Always remember the snail.”
Sorry for all of the quotes, but this was such a beautiful little book! When the author contracted a viral bacterial disease on a brief European holiday, her life changed forever. Before her illness, she lived an active life on a farm in Maine. There are times throughout her illness, which has a cyclical nature that is expected to continue throughout her life, that she can barely turn her head. One day, a friend gifted her with a wild snail in a flowerpot and this snail brought the author an infinite source of wisdom.
This book brilliantly intersperses fascinating nuggets of information about the life of snails with Bailey’s own self discoveries. This was a captivating reading experience because it was part memoir, part field journal, and part scientific research – a wonderful combination!
“My bed was an island within the desolate sea of my room. Yet I knew that there were other people home-bound from illness or injury, scattered here and there throughout rural towns and cities around the world. And as I lay there, I felt a connection to all of them. We, too, were a colony of hermits.”
“A last look at the stars and then to sleep. Lots to do at whatever pace I can go. I must remember the snail. Always remember the snail.”
Sorry for all of the quotes, but this was such a beautiful little book! When the author contracted a viral bacterial disease on a brief European holiday, her life changed forever. Before her illness, she lived an active life on a farm in Maine. There are times throughout her illness, which has a cyclical nature that is expected to continue throughout her life, that she can barely turn her head. One day, a friend gifted her with a wild snail in a flowerpot and this snail brought the author an infinite source of wisdom.
This book brilliantly intersperses fascinating nuggets of information about the life of snails with Bailey’s own self discoveries. This was a captivating reading experience because it was part memoir, part field journal, and part scientific research – a wonderful combination!