Looking Up
Description
ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Award
"Perfect for fans of faith writing by Madeline L'Engle and Anne Lamott, Ellis's exquisite book resounds with hope and birdsong." - Booklist, April 2024
"Look at the birds"
Through the painful days of the pandemic stuck in her home, Courtney Ellis found herself looking down in despair. Soon after, her beloved grandfather died unexpectedly.
It was around this same time that Ellis took up watching birds. "Took up" might not be exactly right-as she puts it, "the switch flipped," and she's been borderline obsessed with birds ever since.
Looking Up is a meditation on birding as a practice of hope. Weaving together stories from her own life, including the death of her grandfather, with reflections on birds of many kinds, Ellis invites us to open our eyes to the goodness of God both in the natural world and in our own lives. By "looking up" to the birds, Ellisfound the beauty and wonder of these creatures calling her out of her darkness into the light and hope of God's promises.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Courtney Ellis is a pastor at Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, California. She is the author of six books, including Looking Up: A Birder's Guide to Hope Through Grief. Courtney hosts The Thing with Feathers, apodcast about birds and hope. She lives in Orange County, California, with her husband and three children.
Content
Foreword by Kay Warren 1. Looking Up: Birding 2. Death: Vultures 3. Uncertainty: Mockingbirds 4. Life: Sparrows 5. End Times: Owls 6. Dailiness: House Finches 7. Brokenness and Sin: Hummingbirds 8. Delight: Warblers 9. Grief: Albatrosses 10. Partnership: Wrens 11. Peace: Doves 12. Love: Pelicans 13. Truth and Beauty: Corvids 14. Rest: Quail 15. Hope: Birds Acknowledgments Appendix: So You Want to Start Birding? Notes
