Somehow, miraculously, Terry Tempest Williams has done it again: written a book that no one else could have, that tells the truth about our lives. If you want to understand how a writer finds her voice, read this gorgeous book. (Sue Halpern, author of Can't Remember What I Forgot: Your Memory, Your Mind, Your Future)

"Williams displays a Whitmanesque embrace of the world and its contradictions....As the pages accumulate, her voice grows in majesty and power until it become a full-fledged aria."—-San Francisco Chronicle

"Williams is the kind of writer who makes a reader feel that [her] voice might also, one day, be heard….She cancels out isolation: Connections are woven as you sit in your chair reading—-between you and the place you live, between you and other readers, you and the writer. Without knowing how it happened, your sense of home is deepened."—-Susan Salter Reynolds, The Daily Beast

"Time, experience, and uncanny coincidence spiral through these pages….When Women Were Birds is an extraordinary echo chamber in which lessons about voice—-passed along from mother, to daughter, and now to us—-will reverberate differently in each inner ear."—-The Seattle Times

"In some ways When Women Were Birds functions as a detective story, an attempt to solve a mystery. But it’s also a realization that often there are no answers…there’s only the present."—-The Salt Lake Tribune

"A lyrical, timeless book that rewards quiet, attentive reading—-a rare thing."—-The Huffington Post

"At some point I realized I was reading every page twice trying to memorize each insight, each bit of hard-won wisdom. Then I realized I could keep it on my bedside table and read it every night."—-Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted

Much more than a brave and luminous memoir, When Women Were Birds is a set of blueprints for building one of America's most impassioned and audacious writers, as well as a transcript of the moment when she stepped determinedly into the full power of her own voice. In Terry's magical equation, rage + confusion + grief + accountability = love. At some point I realized I was reading every page twice, trying to memorize each insight, each bit of hard-won wisdom. Then I realized I could keep it on my bedside table and read it every night. (Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted)

When Women Were Birds is a wise and beautiful and intelligent book, written for the women, men, and children of our times. It vibrates with the earned honesty of a great soul. It is a gift, passed on to readers with the same spirit of love and generosity with which it was first given to the author by her mother. A remarkable journey, a remarkable story. (Rick Bass, author of Winter: Notes from Montana)

The writing of Terry Tempest Williams is brilliant, meditative, and full of surprises, wisdom, and wonder. She's one of those writers who changes people's lives by encouraging attention and a slow, patient awakening. (Anne Lamott, author of Imperfect Birds)