Customer Reviews

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me

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Being a "parrot person" I purchased this anticipating that the story would be all about the African Grey "Graycie." Well, I was disappointed. It is a family memoir with Graycie being a "mere" family pet instead. The majority of the book focuses on the couple, then the kids, houses, other pets, and poor Graycie is always just in the background. This family had this bird given to them very early in the marriage and they knew nothing about parrots and made no real efforts to learn anything about parrots except what they picked up from their brief and rarely mentioned vet visits. Starting at chapter 21 the story becomes primarily about Graycie and is the best part of the book. Still, I'm so frustrated by the ignorance and off-the-cuff way she is dealt with. If I was a wild-caught African Grey, I think I would have been much more overt in my behaviour towards these people, so I think they are getting off easy.

The Title is "Winging It" and it was aptly named. Little or no research was put into the understanding of this poor Congo African Grey. It takes the author 20 years to come to any understanding of the species, and although she can be commended for not rehoming the bird, I believe that rehoming Graycie would have been a sincere kindness, provided that the right person was found to fill the void in her life.

This story will appeal to mainstream people with no experience with parrots, and serve as a lesson to anyone who has been harboring the notion of buying a parrot, but has not yet done the proper research on the species in question.

I don't recommend this book to "parronts" of parrots, as you will probably feel like me and want to smack this author upside the head for being so thoughtless and careless in their handling of this bird's life.

This is an incredible book. The author got a wild caught parrot as a gift at a time when it was more acceptable and out of loyalty stuck with the bird thru thick and thing when most people ( yes even parrot people) would have given up. This is her story and Graycies. It's truly an honest and open memoir of her family life , what it's like to be a family and stick by your pets at the same time .
As a volunteer for an exotic bird sanctuary I have seen first hand what happens to these long lived, beautiful and intelligent creatures. I am myself owned by five of them and they have and continue to add greatly to the quality of my life. I commend Jenny for not only her perseverance but her loyalty to Graycie and for writing about it as well.
Hopefully people who are considering getting a parrot will adopt and do their research which is so important.
Buying this book and passing it on is an excellent first step.