I began reading Courtney Ellis’ Looking Up around the time my mother was hospitalized and then died. And around the time a house wren took up residence in our Rose of Sharon bush in the front yard. The bird’s sweet singing as well as its raucous calls when our cat was lying casually on the sidewalk nearby seemed to coincide with both the sweetness of people who loved my mom and spoke kindly about her and the harshness of death.
Ellis’s book is the perfect pairing of these two things: hopelessness and darkness with the beauty of God’s creatures that call us into hope. She found her way into birding as the pandemic brought her low at the same time her beloved grandfather died. The birds pointed her toward the hope and love of God that she knew well as pastor of Presbyterian Church of the Master in California, but that as a grieving granddaughter seemed hidden.
She pairs specific birds with topics that bring readers through the grief process. For example, death is paired with vultures, delight with warblers, grief with albatrosses, and rest with quail. She explores the topics deeply and beautifully while also offering details about the birds and her own journey. Ellis is a wonderful writer, her pastor’s heart shining through even as she prompts laughter with her wry observations about family life, pastoring, and bird-watching.
Birders will love Looking Up for its attention to our winged companions. Those experiencing grief will also find heartfelt connection and gentle pointing toward the source of help, hope, and peace. Being a bird person isn’t a prerequisite to learning from and loving this book—Ellis’s heart is open to all.
“This story is about birds, yes, but even more than that it is about paying attention to grief as an avenue toward hope,” she says. (IVP)
About the Author
Ann Byle is author of Chicken Scratch: Lessons on Living Creatively from a Flock of Hens. She is a freelance writer and author of several other books, magazine articles, and reviews. She lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.