Review
"The author found solace--and good material--in watching a snail." --People magazine (People Magazine )
"Though illness may rob us of vitality, sometimes it can also help bring us understanding---albeit in improbable disguises . . . Perhaps there's something to be said for moving at a snail's pace." --NPR.org (NPR.org )
"Though illness may rob us of vitality, sometimes it can also help bring us understanding---albeit in improbable disguises . . . Perhaps there's something to be said for moving at a snail's pace." --NPR.org (NPR.org )
Review
With warmth and intelligence, Bailey observes this little mollusk at her bedside. Readers will find her mental journey remarkable and her courage irresistible. I am very taken with this small book. Maxine Kumin
From the Publisher
Best Books of 2010 --Huffington Post National Outdoor Book Award for 2010 in Natural History Literature Top Ten Science Titles for 2010 BookList Editors (American Library Association) "A finely-crafted eulogy to a common woodland snail and a moving endorsement of the human spirit." —Sir John Lister-Kaye, naturalist, Scotland "A miniature masterpiece."—The Independent "Wait, did you say a wild snail? As opposed to domestic? Well, I'm intrigued." --"Books for Dudes," Library Journal "What starts as an improbably story becomes an irresistible one . . . this elegant little gem is a triumph." --Maine Sunday Telegram "[Bailey] honors the gastropod with a poetic history of its short, astonishing life." --MORE Magzine Riveting. --DownEast Magazine "One sweet story" --Indie Next List "Beautifully written."—Daily News
From the Inside Flap
Inside-flap copy:
If rapt attention is a kind of prayer, then this is a prayerful book. Bailey pays homage to splendors small and humble enough to fit inside a terrarium." --Scott Russell Sanders
About the Author
Elisabeth Tova Bailey s essays and short stories have been published in the Missouri Review, Northwest Review, and the Sycamore Review. She has received several Pushcart Prize nominations, and the essay on which this book is based received a notable essay listing in Best American Essays. She lives in Maine.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Each evening the snail awoke and, with an astonishing amount of poise, moved gracefully to the rim of the pot and peered over, surveying, once again, the strange country that lay ahead. Pondering its circumstance with a regal air, as if from the turret of a castle, it waved its tentacles first this way and then that, as though responding to a distant melody.
