When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer—Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood—she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T.H. White's chronicle The Goshawk to begin her challenging endeavor. Projecting herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her" tested the limits of Macdonald's humanity and changed her life.Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer's eccentric falconry. Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.

Our story began when I found a notebook in Tompkins Square Park and fell in love with the words of a wildly romantic soul. The first time I met my best friend’s boyfriend, he was rude to me. Sure, Gabriel Francis was all cheekbones and dishevelled hair with a voice that made women swoon and incited bidding wars with record labels. A pure drop of light in a sea of grunge. None of that swayed me though. I didn’t trust rock stars. Besides, he was off limits. But as Annika’s infatuation grew, and we were forced to spend more time together, I became enamored with Gabriel, too. First, I fell in love with his words, and then I fell in love with him. Twin flames that burned bright, we were each other’s muses. My art. His music. A once in a lifetime love. Until a cruel twist of fate cut our happily ever after short, and I became a stranger to him. Now, a decade after our story began, we would either fall in love all over again... or discover that some dreams are best forgotten.