We Should All Be Birds
A Memoir
Brian Buckbee’s reflective memoir We Should All Be Birds is about how his friendship with a rescued pigeon alleviated his ongoing health struggles.
In 2020, Buckbee was walking near home when he noticed a pigeon on a roof. The bird appeared injured—and curious about the man watching him. After seeing the same bird three nights in a row, Buckbee decided to bring it home to recover. Years on, Buckbee cares not just for Two-Step the pigeon, but also Two-Step’s “girlfriend” V. and another dozen birds. They bring him joy, easing the chronic migraines that ended his teaching career.
Because of his intense headaches, Buckbee dictated the book to his computer and sent it to his editor. That composition process is a key element of the book, whose fluid chronology and shifts of topic imitate the workings of the mind. The editor chides Buckbee when she feels he is idealizing relationships; Buckbee exclaims “Dictation snafu!” when the software also records his asides to the pigeons.
The main narrative spans a year, from one National Bird Day in 2022 to the next in January 2023, while flashbacks widen its scope. Buckbee recalls his childhood love of animals, his travels in Asia, the onset of a mystery illness, and the anguish of his partner leaving him. Medical crises with Two-Step, including a salmonella infection and being struck by a car, echo other bad news, including Buckbee’s father’s death from cancer and his mother’s diagnosis of early dementia. Parallels emerge between caring for a bird and a person: Two-Step’s “soft release” to a nesting box outside the living room window mirrors moving Buckbee’s mother into assisted living.
In the musing memoir We Should All Be Birds, communion with nature is a means of coping with chronic illness and losses.
Reviewed by
Rebecca Foster
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
