Birding to Change the World: A Memoir

In this uplifting environmental memoir, a professor and activist shares what birds can teach us about life, social change, and protecting the environment.

Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin.

Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Inspired, O'Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD. There she became a full-on bird obsessive—logging hours in a stunningly biodiverse urban park, filling field notebooks with the drama of local urban wildlife, and teaching ornithology to college students and middle-school kids.

When Warner Park—her daily birdwatching haven—was threatened with development, O’Kane and her neighbors mustered a mighty murmuration of nature lovers, young and old, to save the birds' homes. Through their inspiring community activism, she learned that once you get outside and look around, you're likely to fall in love with a furred or feathered creature—and find a flock of your own.

In Birding to Change the World, O'Kane details the astonishing science of bird life, from migration and parenting to the territorial defense strategies that influenced her own activism. A warm and compelling work of nature writing that weaves science and social engagement, this is the story of an improbably band of bird lovers who saved their park. And it is a blueprint for muscular citizenship, powered by joy.

• A Journey of Healing Through Nature: Follow Trish O’Kane’s story from the trauma of Hurricane Katrina to finding unexpected solace and purpose in the birds of a neighborhood park.
• Grassroots Activism: Learn how a daily birdwatching habit transformed into an inspiring campaign to save Madison's Warner Park from development.
• The Science of Bird Life: Explore the astonishing world of birds—from migration and parenting to the fierce territorial strategies that can inspire our own social engagement.
• An Uplifting Story of Social Change: More than a memoir, this is a blueprint for how falling in love with the natural world can inspire you to find your own flock and protect the places you call home.