When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice

By: Terry Tempest Williams

Narrated by: Terry Tempest Williams

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

The beloved author of Refuge returns with a work that explodes and startles, illuminates and celebrates.

Terry Tempest Williams's mother told her: "I am leaving you all my journals, but you must promise me you won't look at them until after I'm gone."

Fans of Williams's iconic and unconventional memoir, Refuge, well remember that mother. She was a member of a large Mormon clan in northern Utah who developed cancer as a result of the nuclear testing in nearby Nevada. It was a shock to Williams to discover that her mother had kept journals. But not as much of a shock as what she found when the time came to read them.

They were exactly where she said they would be: three shelves of beautiful cloth-bound books.... "I opened the first journal. It was empty. I opened the second journal. It was empty. I opened the third. It too was empty.... Shelf after shelf after shelf, all of my mother's journals were blank."

What did Williams's mother mean by that? In 54 chapters that unfold like a series of yoga poses, each with its own logic and beauty, Williams creates a lyrical and caring meditation of the mystery of her mother's journals. When Women Were Birds is a kaleidoscope that keeps turning around the question "What does it mean to have a voice?"

©2012 Terry Tempest Williams (P)2012 Wind Over The Earth

A poetic journey

A spiritual reflection of a woman's life, the women she loved and the birds she treasures. A beautifully written journal ironically.

Awesome book!

Would you consider the audio edition of When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice to be better than the print version?

I did not read the printed version - although I plan to. This is a book I want in my library - to have it handy to look at and refer to when I want to. There are so many passages that I want to remember - this book has impacted my life in ways that I'll be unpackaging for a long time.

What does Terry Tempest Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Having an author read their own work is so wonderful - you feel the heart and passion as they read the words. It's like sitting across the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a good friend - a very wise friend.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to listen to it in one sitting, but there is also joy in putting it down and delighting in the anticipation of beginning the story where you left off. I looked forward to getting back to the book. When the end of the story came, it felt like a perfect ending. I sighed and appreciated the heartfelt prose. But started looking for the next Terry Tempest Williams book to explore.

Amazing TTW

Powerful story, superbly read by the author. This woman's voice resonates in a time when women's voices are being listened to. TTW has much to say and much to contemplate, by both women and men.

I want to buy a copy for every woman I know. I want to buy a copy for every lover of words. This is poetry. This is a gift.

I own a hard copy, but it was such a pleasure to hear Terry read her own work through the Audible version that I would recommend listening to it before reading it.

A pure gift! I listened to the whole book in one day.

Breathy and soothing voice.

Inspired to write today. Oh and I've massaged you in Seattle many moons ago. You are an author and a soul I'll never forget.

To call this book superb would be an understatement

Beautifully written, beautifully read. A book every woman should read. Teri Tempest Williams celebrates womanhood in a most poetic memoir. Her words are breathtaking. I’m recommending this book to every woman in my life. I am also buying a hardcopy. When I finished listening to it the first time I quickly restarted for a second time. . I’m sure there will also be a third and a fourth.

compelling and creative

Would you consider the audio edition of When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice to be better than the print version?

I am a big Terry Tempest Williams fan, this audio was excellant. In fact, I just bought the book so I can savour the words and read it slowly with more contemplation. Her ability to describe her life, her mother's journals are exquisite. I highly recommend this audio and thoroughly enjoy Terry as the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The realism. The flow of the book. The use of the written word to "make me see and feel".

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me think about my relationship with my mother and my relationship with my daughter. In many instances I could stand in her shoes as if they were my own.

Not About Birds!

What did you love best about When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice?

In the context of story telling when the writer discovered 'the secret' she did not dwell so much on what could appear as an obvious disappointment but immediately began a search to understand the meaning of the gift and the meaning of a life as looked at through both her eyes and her mothers' eyes.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the many pearls of wisdom dropped by the author along the story line. There are not many people who can write a short book and SLAM the reader with insightful revelations into the human condition and still make the reader want to continue the book to the end. This author did that very thing magnificently!

What does Terry Tempest Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I always enjoy hearing an author read their own work. Her voice, the speed, emphasis, pauses these interpretations of her own work helped me 'hear' the voice in the story. I found, many times while going through this book, sheer wonderment that the voice I was hearing was the voice of the writer. She wrote this story very nicely and her voice brought out the 'shine' that lay within those words. She was great.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A film would detract from this story.

Heart wrenching and perfect

Stumbled upon this by accident and I'm so glad I did. Perfect for any woman, especially those who are fighting for the wilderness.

Voice

I enjoy listening to writers read their own work, this is especially so with the work of Terry Tempest Williams. Thank you Terry for giving voice to the voiceless and Thank you for inspiring eco warriors to voice to their concerns.