We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author:
Author of introduction, etc.:
Published:
The Crown Publishing Group 2014
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A masterpiece of hope, love, and the resilience and ferocity of the human spirit.”—Glennon Doyle Melton, from the foreword
 
“Profound, tender, honest—and utterly unforgettable.”—Gretchen Rubin
 

“I wish I had nothing to say on the matter of loss, but I do. Because one day I encouraged my two kids to go out and play in the rain, and only one came home. . . .”
 
On an ordinary September day, twelve-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again?
 
In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. This is a book about facing impossible circumstances and desperately wishing you could turn back the clock. It is about discovering that you’re braver than you think. It is about the flicker of hope and the realization that in times of heartbreak, God is closer than your own skin.
 
With this unforgettable account of a family’s love and longing, Anna will draw you deeper into a divine goodness that keeps us—beyond all earthly circumstances—safe.
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
09/09/2014
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781601425218
ASIN:
B00J1ISMNO
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Anna Whiston-Donaldson. (2014). Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love. The Crown Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Anna Whiston-Donaldson. 2014. Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love. The Crown Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Anna Whiston-Donaldson, Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love. The Crown Publishing Group, 2014.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Anna Whiston-Donaldson. Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love. The Crown Publishing Group, 2014.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
15d099b3-50e5-af59-86ee-9bda7a380700
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 16:11:39
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:42:29
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 21, 2024 07:36:28
Last Metadata Change:
Feb 04, 2024 07:46:34
Last Availability Check:
Apr 21, 2024 07:36:31
Last Availability Change:
May 04, 2023 22:42:07
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 26, 2024 02:10:38

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0111-1/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0111-1/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0111-1/D8A/20E/30/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0111-1/D8A/20E/30/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781601425218
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B00J1ISMNO
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781601425218
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Anna Whiston-Donaldson
title
Rare Bird
dateAdded
2016-12-01T14:22:00-05:00
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=1638055
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Rare Bird A Memoir of Loss and Love
crossRefId
1638055
subtitle
A Memoir of Loss and Love
id
d8a20e30-9268-483b-97c7-1a57cf68dd6c
starRating
4.6

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: RareBird_9781601425218_1638055
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 2086453
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781601425218
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 0
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 9/9/2014
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/rare-bird?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: RareBird_1638055
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B00J1ISMNO
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 9/9/2014
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/rare-bird?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: RareBird_9781601425218_1638055
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781601425218
            • type: PublisherCatalogNumber
            • value: 227853
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 9/9/2014
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/rare-bird?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: Christian
      • value: Biography
      • value: Faith
      • value: autobiographies
      • value: Hope
      • value: peace
      • value: God
      • value: Forgiveness
      • value: Religion
      • value: brave
      • value: Death
      • value: Autobiography
      • value: Memoirs
      • value: Heaven
      • value: grief
      • value: biographies
      • value: courage
      • value: self help books
      • value: death of a child
      • value: loss
      • value: memoir
      • value: Christian biographies
      • value: Christian books
      • value: biographies and memoirs
      • value: loss of a child
      • value: religious books
      • value: Christian books for women
      • value: Glennon Doyle Melton
      • value: self help books for women
      • value: christian grief books
      • value: christian self help books
      • value: healing after loss
      • value: ny times bestsellers
      • value: gifts for grieving mother
      • value: gifts for grieving parents
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Whiston-Donaldson, Anna
      • bioText: Anna Whiston-Donaldson is a popular blogger at An Inch of Gray. A graduate of James Madison University and Wake Forest University, she taught high school English for six years before becoming a full-time mom and writer. She lives with her husband, Tim, and daughter, Margaret, in suburban Washington, DC.
      • name: Anna Whiston-Donaldson
      • role: Author of introduction, etc.
      • fileAs: Doyle, Glennon
      • name: Glennon Doyle
imprint
Convergent Books
publishDate
2014-09-09T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Rare Bird
fullDescription
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A masterpiece of hope, love, and the resilience and ferocity of the human spirit.”—Glennon Doyle Melton, from the foreword
 
“Profound, tender, honest—and utterly unforgettable.”—Gretchen Rubin
 

“I wish I had nothing to say on the matter of loss, but I do. Because one day I encouraged my two kids to go out and play in the rain, and only one came home. . . .”
 
On an ordinary September day, twelve-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again?
 
In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. This is a book about facing impossible circumstances and desperately wishing you could turn back the clock. It is about discovering that you’re braver than you think. It is about the flicker of hope and the realization that in times of heartbreak, God is closer than your own skin.
 
With this unforgettable account of a family’s love and longing, Anna will draw you deeper into a divine goodness that keeps us—beyond all earthly circumstances—safe.
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Gretchen Rubin, author of #1 New York Times bestseller, The Happiness Project
      • content: "Profound, tender, honest--and utterly unforgettable."
      • premium: False
      • source: The Washingtonian
      • content: "Will touch every reader who picks it up."
      • premium: False
      • source: Publishers Weekly
      • content: "In this powerful debut memoir, blogger Whiston-Donaldson tells the tragic story--of the death of her 12-year-old son Jack. The author is an emotionally insightful guide to the territory of grief. She notes the relationship of grief and shame, the comforts and sorrows of sex, and the hideous fights between bereaved parents. From its disarming opening sentence ("I thought the first book I'd write would be about painting furniture"), the book avoids sentimentality. The book is well paced--the reader knows from the start that the author's child is dead, but doesn't know precisely how he dies for some chapters--and is underpinned by a steady drumbeat of faith, as Whiston-Donaldson negotiates a new relationship with God after Jack's death. She feels deeply loved by God, "almost as if I'm wrapped in a soft, cotton batting," but she is also "disappointed and hurt... and the only broken body I can picture right now is Jack's." Whiston-Donaldson's compelling account belongs on the shelf next to Richard Lischer's Stations of the Heart."
      • premium: False
      • source: Stacy Morrison, Editor in Chief, BlogHer; author of Falling Apart in One Piece
      • content: "In her beautiful, clear-eyed prose Anna brings to life complex miracles: that the anchor of being strong is tied to feelings of unbearable weakness; that the ache of grief is often accompanied by glittering beauty; and that all we do not understand is more important to making sense of life than what we know. Her story, as well as Jack's story, is gorgeous, bold and true, and no one will be unchanged in reading it."
      • premium: False
      • source: Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times best-selling author of Hands Free Mama
      • content: "This is not a book; it is a kaleidoscope. With every turn of the page, a new discovery is made that forever alters your view of pain, joy, heartache, time, hope, and healing. As I journeyed through Anna's divinely written prose, I found myself unable to stand by as a passive recipient of her message. I needed to act. Because of Anna and Jack, I talked with my child about heaven. I walked around the pool's edge to sit beside a grieving woman. I looked into the darkest places of my soul and for the first time, I did not look away. If you yearn to stop hiding from that which prevents you from truly living, step into the kaleidoscope that is Rare Bird. Turn the page--wake up, stand up, comfort, love, and live. Turn the page--let your eyes be opened to the light that exists in whatever darkness you face."
      • premium: False
      • source: Mary C. Neal, MD, New York Times best-selling author of To Heaven and Back
      • content: "A masterpiece of hope, love, and the resilience and ferocity of the human spirit."-- From the foreword by Glennon Doyle Melton, Momastery.com; author of Carry On, Warrior "Rare Bird is not just another well-written story of love, loss, and the aftermath of death, but it is a story that clearly shows the constant presence and grace of a loving God. It gives assurance and comfort to those whose hearts are grieving, and hope to those who are afraid."
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        August 11, 2014
        In this powerful debut memoir, blogger Whiston-Donaldson tells the tragic story—of the death of her 12-year-old son Jack. The author is an emotionally insightful guide to the territory of grief. She notes the relationship of grief and shame, the comforts and sorrows of sex, and the hideous fights between bereaved parents. From its disarming opening sentence (“I thought the first book I’d write would be about painting furniture”), the book avoids sentimentality. The book is well paced—the reader knows from the start that the author’s child is dead, but doesn’t know precisely how he dies for some chapters—and is underpinned by a steady drumbeat of faith, as Whiston-Donaldson negotiates a new relationship with God after Jack’s death. She feels deeply loved by God, “almost as if I’m wrapped in a soft, cotton batting,” but she is also “disappointed and hurt... and the only broken body I can picture right now is Jack’s.” Whiston-Donaldson’s compelling account belongs on the shelf next to Richard Lischer’s Stations of the Heart.

popularity
69
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/d8a20e30-9268-483b-97c7-1a57cf68dd6c/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
d8a20e30-9268-483b-97c7-1a57cf68dd6c
starRating
4.4
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0111-1/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0111-1/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0111-1/D8A/20E/30/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0111-1/D8A/20E/30/{D8A20E30-9268-483B-97C7-1A57CF68DD6C}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Biography & Autobiography
      • value: Christian Nonfiction
      • value: Religion & Spirituality
      • value: Nonfiction
publishDateText
09/09/2014
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781601425195
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A masterpiece of hope, love, and the resilience and ferocity of the human spirit.”—Glennon Doyle Melton, from the foreword
 
“Profound, tender, honest—and utterly unforgettable.”—Gretchen Rubin
 

“I wish I had nothing to say on the matter of loss, but I do. Because one day I encouraged my two kids to go out and play in the rain, and only one came home. . . .”
 
On an ordinary September day, twelve-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again?
 
In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. This is a book about facing impossible circumstances and desperately wishing you...
sortTitle
Rare Bird A Memoir of Loss and Love
crossRefId
1638055
subtitle
A Memoir of Loss and Love
publisher
The Crown Publishing Group
bisacCodes
      • code: BIO026000
      • description: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
      • code: REL012040
      • description: RELIGION / Christian Living / Inspirational
      • code: REL012130
      • description: RELIGION / Christian Living / Women's Interests