Poet and painter Frieda Hughes’s chronicle of rescuing a tiny magpie chick who grows into an intelligent, lively companion—a heartwarming memoir of love, obsession, and nature.

When Frieda Hughes moved to the depths of the Welsh countryside, she was expecting to take on a few projects: planting a garden, painting, and writing her poetry column for the Times. But instead, she found herself rescuing a baby magpie, the sole survivor of a nest destroyed in a storm—and embarking on an obsession that would change the course of her life.

As the magpie, George, grows from a shrieking scrap of feathers into a boisterous yet affectionate companion, Frieda finds herself both captivated and apprehensive of what will happen when the time comes to finally set him free—when he will no longer fly back to her.

Brimming with humor, heart, and plenty of zany adventures, this is an entertaining and charming story about one woman who saved a tiny wild creature—only to ultimately find that caring for the bird saves her.

Born in London in 1960, the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, Frieda Hughes is an established painter and poet. She has written several children’s books, eight collections of poetry, articles for magazines and newspapers, and was the Times Poetry columnist. As a painter, Frieda regularly exhibits in London and has a permanent exhibition at her private gallery in Wales, where she resides with fourteen owls, two rescue huskies, an ancient Maltese terrier, five chinchillas, a ferret called Socks, a Royal python, and her motorbikes.