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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On Eagle's Wings, June 6, 2010
This review is from: An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Hardcover)
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"I want to fly like an eagle til I'm free.
Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me." -- Steve Miller Band, 1976
"And I will raise you up on eagle's wings" -- Old Hymn
"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary." -- Isaiah, 40:31
This is one of the most beautiful stories about how love can transform wildlife and human lives. Jeff Guidry saves an injured eagle whose wings were broken. Traumatized and no longer able to fly, the eagle named Freedom relies on her human protectors to act as her wings.
Jeff Guidry's life changed as soon as he met the injured eaglet. He worked tirelessly with the team at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center. Fortunately for all, the eagle recovers and Jeff, who was a volunteer at Sarvey became solely responsible for the beautiful raptor.
In 2000 Jeff Guidry became as grounded as his eagle, Freedom. He was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Equally traumatized as his beautiful bird was when he rescued her, Jeff Guidry receives a wonderful gift from his bird. Coping with the grueling rounds of chemotherapy, Jeff fought back with a spirit not too different from his indomitable eagle. He walked Freedom regularly and watching his bird develop strength and confidence inspired him to do likewise.
Jeff was declared cancer free and the bond he had with his eagle was nothing short of miraculous. The day he received the good news, Jeff rushed to the Sarvey Center to walk his beautiful bird. The bond between the two was extraordinary; Freedom seemed to sense her friend's spectacular recovery. She threw her large wings around Jeff's shoulders, making Jeff the recipient of an aquiline hug.
By March of 2008, Jeff shared his avian experience with his friend Gayle via e-mail. By going to bat for a bird in need and sharing her story, that e-mail found its way around the world. People marveled at the kind man who gave an eagle a "chance at life" and how she in turn helped him to reclaim his.
This is a beautiful story that might even make you cry. I cannot recommend it highly enough and all who read this will be raised up on eagle's wings.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Intimate Bond Between Bird and Man, July 4, 2010
This review is from: An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Hardcover)
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An Eagle Named Freedom is Jeff Guidry's heartwarming, and often heartbreaking, 10-year memoir of his incredible life and bond with a Pacific Northwest American Bald Eagle named Freedom. In 1998 while Jeff is volunteering at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Washington State, a female baby eagle is brought in with two broken wings and is severely emaciated. She is only 3 feet tall, and weighs just 10 pounds. Jeff and coworker Kaye Baxter transfer the hurt bird to a veterinary clinic where they set and bind the wings hoping for the best. Freedom is brought back to Sarvey and undergoes months of healing. Initially showing no hope of recovery, she inches her way toward trust when Jeff shows her patience, love, and security, with his soft voice and protective care. Yet although she slowly gains her weight back, she never regains full use of her wings and will never take flight again. Sarvey's staff however is thrilled that she lived and decide to keep her for educational training, allowing Jeff to take on that task.
Jeff begins the slow process of glove training Freedom. Bird and man quickly bond, showing incredible patience, intuition, and love for each other's needs to make this attempt work. Jeff's eagle adapts easily and quickly graduates to being held with anklets and jesses. Soon this dynamic pair begin touring the local educational road-shows to educate the public about wildlife. Freedom and Jeff entertain Boy Scout troops, Native American Indian pow-wows, schools for children, and various other public awareness groups that need to learn about protecting the natural world around us.
But as life has it, good times don't usually last forever. Two years later after Jeff and Freedom are introduced, Jeff is diagnosed with type 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A lump on the side of his neck is instantly biopsied and pronounced malignant. The next 8 months are the most difficult Jeff will ever spend as he undergoes the hellish treatment of Chemotherapy that will nearly kill him. What saves Jeff's life, what keeps his flame burning and the will to live strong, is the unconditional love and kinship he receives from Freedom. This book is a tender sweet story of Jeff's deep love to heal his eagle, and the return gift that eagle hands back to him full-circle. When 8 months later Jeff's treatments show his body cancer free, he head's straight for the Sarvey center to let Freedom be the first to hear the good news. Taking Freedom out of her cage, the birds' keen insight knew Jeff was well and wrapped her giant wings around Jeff's shoulders in a loving protective embrace as if to say " we did it!"
In addition to the precious story of a man and his bird, the reader gets to enjoy many endearing stories of the other animal residents at Sarvey. Some tales humorous, some sweet, some heartbreaking, but this is not a book full of tear-jerking sadness. It is a shining light and dedication to those in the world who volunteer to keep our wildlife friends safe from harm, and assist in their well being in times of need. This memoir is about hope, never giving up, persistence to attain your goals no matter how dire life can be, and to treat our animal friends with as much love and respect we would our own family members. This is may be a short little book, but it is filled to the brim with a plentiful helping of inspiration for all of us that have a deep love and admiration for animals. An Eagle Named Freedom is written from the heart, penned well, and accompanied by wonderful color photographs of Jeff, Freedom and their friends at Sarvey. Nice story!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't confuse simplicity with importance, July 28, 2010
This review is from: An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
First off, if you're a Barry Lopez/Annie Dillard-type nature writer fan, you won't find profound insights or deep reflections or pristine, original prose in this memoir of the relationship of the author with a young, mended eagle. But that's fine. Books serve different functions, and in the case of An Eagle Named Freedom, you get straightforward, journalistic prose; you also get entry into an emotional connection which in itself implies a certain philosophy. Don't read this book for its insights, necessarily: read it for its "mission." It's pretty much about a regular guy (being a back-up, albeit excellent rock musician shouldn't put you on the list of cultural icons). However, the lyrics to this 'narrative song' are a bit like rock ballads: strong on feelings, plain on execution. It could just be that is something the world needs. Not another impressive 'nature writer' but a person with an illness who bonds with a non-human rescued from its own disability, and relates simply his profound experience of bonding. You don't need ideological sophistication or an agenda or a taste for 'stylistically superior' writing to appreciate this book. But your 'ur' self should be able to relate and appreciate it. Imagine if this book about a simple spiritual awakening would sell as many copies or be as popular as Thomas Friedman's best sellers on globalization? It won't, but it's more likely to than the essays you find in The Atlantic or ......(take your pick). This book is about 'globalization' of the spirit. Jeff Guidry's 'journey' from a typical 'nature is nice' kind of guy to 'nature contains answers to my spiritual crisis' has backing by just about all major religions in the world, not to mention specific Native American religions. He doesn't need any footnotes.
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