Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love

A mother’s story of tenacity in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss, and her surprising encounters with the supernatural on her journey to healing and hope.

Out of seemingly nowhere on a September day, 12-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak flood from his neighbourhood, his family, and life itself. Left to wrestle with the awful questions–How did it happen? Why? What ever now?–are Jack’s mother, Anna, his younger sister, Margaret, and his dad, Tim. They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months ahead, they each find their faltering way toward something like peace and healing. Anna unfolds her story with telling detail, beautiful evocations of love and longing, and the power of a woman who has not only survived the unimaginable but returned to make her testament of hope in a divine goodness.