Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl (Hardcover)

by Stacey O'Brien (Author)
Key Phrases: owl toddler, wild owls, baby owl, Stacey O'Brien, Deep Bonds, Flying Lessons (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Owls permeate literature and mythology, an ancient animal ("some 97 million years" old) that has fascinated for centuries; still, few people have had as intimate an encounter with the mysterious night birds as biologist O'Brien. As a student researcher at Caltech, she fell in love with an injured four-day-old barn owl and seized the opportunity to adopt him permanently. She named him Wesley, and for 19 years kept, cared for and studied him, forging a tremendous relationship with the still-wild animal, as well as a vast understanding of his abilities, instincts and habits: "He was my teacher, my companion, my child, my playmate, my reminder of God." Her heartwarming story is buttressed by lessons on owl folklore, temperament ("playful and inquisitive"), skills, and the brain structure that gives them some amazing abilities, like spotting a mouse "under three feet of snow by homing in on just the heartbeat." It also details her working life among fellow scientists, a serious personal health crisis, and the general ins and outs of working with animals. This memoir will captivate animal lovers and, though not necessarily for kids, should hold special appeal for Harry Potter fans who've always envied the boy wizard his Hedwig.
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Review

"I love Wesley the Owl! Not since Konrad Lorenz have I read such an honest, vivid, and revealing account of the rich and complex life of an individual bird. Stacey O'Brien has captured the essence of the soul of an unforgettable owl. Affectionate, quirky, joyous, and wise, Wesley shows us the Way of the Owl -- the way to God and grace. This book is destined to become a classic, and will deepen importantly the way we understand birds." -- Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig

"Wesley the Owl is beautiful, funny, transcendental, fascinating, and powerful. I loved this book!" -- Lynne Cox, author of Grayson and Swimming to Antarctica

"This compelling story sheds a bright, shining light into the world of animal emotions and the powerful bonds forged between animals and humans. A heartfelt journey of life and love with one of nature's wild creatures, Wesley the Owl is a must-read story of faith, compassion, and selfless devotion." -- Jay Kopelman, author of From Baghdad, With Love and From Baghdad to America

"Most 'me and my bird' stories are mildly entertaining at best, but Wesley the Owl is a different animal altogether. Stacey O'Brien got to know this owl with a unique combination of deep scientific understanding and rare emotional intensity, and the result is stunning, unforgettable. Read this book and you will never see owls, or humans, in the same light again." -- Kenn Kaufman, author of Kingbird Highway and Flights Against the Sunset

"This fun book reminded me of Marley & Me, but with wings. Warm, weird, and wonderful, Wesley the Owl is proof that man's best friend sometimes has feathers." -- Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year

"An inside look at the mind of an owl. If you are interested in animal intelligence, you should read this book."-- Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

"The best of love stories between two intelligent beings, told (by the human) with good humor and remarkable insights into the mind of an owl -- I couldn't put it down."-- Donald Kroodsma, Ph.D., professor emeritus at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of The Singing Life of Birds

"[S]weet, quirky memoir....[T]his little guy's such a character."-- USA Today

"Wesley will make you wonder if owls are not at least as wise as humans and as capable of compassion. Wesley the Owl will stretch your notions about the limits of interspecies communication and love. It will entertain, delight and, finally, cause you to weep. Guaranteed."-- Sam Keen, author of Sightings: Extraordinary Encounters With Ordinary Birds

"Stacey O'Brien tells the intriguing story of how her life was changed and rearranged when she attempted to tame and raise Wesley -- a barn owl. She shows us how she was ultimately repaid with his love and devotion, and given glimpses into the mind of an animal that has an unexpected ability to understand human language and to communicate. Fascinating!" --Stanley Coren, psychologist and author of How Dogs Think and Why Does My Dog Act That Way?

When Stacey O'Brien became "smitten beyond reason" and adopted an injured owl while working at Cal Tech, it was for life. As it turned out, it was a decision that saved both her life and the owl s. Renée Raudman reads O'Brien's story of human-animal bonding with such compassion and interest in her subject that listeners may forget she's not the author. Even unpleasant subjects like owl bathroom habits and the process of killing mice for Wesley's dinner become humorous and fascinating. O'Brien packs in a lot of information about owls, animals, and life at Cal Tech, and it all flows naturally in Raudman's reading. J.A.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --AudioFile --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416551735
• ISBN-13: 978-1416551737
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,022 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful memoir, August 27, 2008

By	R. Murphy (Eastern U.S.) - See all my reviews

Working as a student researcher at CalTech, Stacey O'Brien brought a four-day-old owlet home from the lab and named him Wesley. For the next nineteen years, he would be her constant companion and beloved friend. This is a beautiful memoir about the relationship that O'Brien and Wesley developed. O'Brien writes not only as Wesley's besotted owner, but also from the perspective of a biologist, which gives the book a depth and authority that a lot of "my beloved pet" stories lack. This book was fascinating, filled to the brim with exciting facts about owls, but also some very funny anecdotes - such as when Wesley decided that he wanted to learn to swim. It was a really moving, lovely book, and everyone I recommended it to has loved it.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tear jerker ... and much, much more, August 28, 2008

By	Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Biologist Stacey O'Brien was working at an owl lab at CalTech in 1985 when a four-day-old baby barn owl with a permanently nerve damaged wing arrived at the lab. O'Brien promised to take care of the owlet, and this book is a journal of the 19 years (and 28,000 live mice) they spent together.

O'Brien is a scientist and a humanist, and her book is a wonderful account of the relationship as seen from both points of view. For example, this extract is from the first chapter as it appears on the Simon and Schuster website:

"Another attribute that makes owls unique is their brain structure, which is completely different from that of most vertebrates. The barn owl's cortex is mostly dedicated to processing sound rather than visual images. I wondered how that would affect the way the owl interacted with me and my visually oriented domestic world. He must have a very different viewpoint, foreign to us.... [It] would be challenging to learn to live with this nonsocial animal. Owls don't stay in flocks, but individuals are devoted to their mates, living a mostly solitary life together.

"Not only are owls interesting creatures historically and physiologically, but their temperament is also unique. Owls are playful and inquisitive. A friend of mine knew someone who had rescued a little screech owl and she described it as acting like a kitten with wings. She said the owl would fly up, then pounce on all kinds of objects exactly as a kitten does. Owls could also be creative. Sometimes I'd be walking by an office in the Caltech Owl Lab and see an owl making up his own game -- throwing a pencil off a desk just to watch it fall and roll on the floor, then flying off the desk himself, twisting in the air to get a good angle, then pouncing on the pencil."

O'Brien has promised to maintain a blog devoted to the book, to Wesley and his memory, and the growth in our understanding of animal intelligence: "The owl's brain is very complex and scientists are starting to realize that many species of birds are so highly intelligent that they rival the intelligence of apes and small children. The most famous of these birds is, of course, Alex the African Gray, may he rest in peace. Ravens and crows have been found to be toolmakers and problem solvers who do not even need trial and error to figure out solutions to problems. And, dare I say it, Wesley showed a similar level of intelligence. I'm looking forward to discussing these matters and many others in this blog."

I'm looking forward to following along; her analysis of Bernd Heinrich's Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds is particularly fine.

And she's not forgetting Wesley, of course. Neither will I.


Robert C. Ross 2008

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opening and tender read., September 12, 2008

By	Robert Busko (Waynesville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I can't add much to what the other reviewers have already said. If you're an animal lover of any stripe then Wesley the Owl is a book you'll want to spend some time with. Stacey O'Brien's love and affection for her friend Wesley comes out on every page. Animal friends have much to offer their human companions though I've never thought much about birds as pets that can actually offer companionship. That was my ignorance operating and Ms O'Brien has set me straight. Thank you Stacey.

If you have children read Wesley to them and experience the book as a family. You won't regret it.

Peace always