Life List by Olivia Gentile
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
The subtitle to this book is A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds.
This book is a loving and beautiful biography of bird enthusiast Phoebe Snetsinger.
Imagine a woman, a suburban housewife trapped in the gilded cage of domesticity, yearning for adventure and the thrill of the unknown.
Phoebe Snetsinger was such a woman.
Diagnosed with a terminal illness at the age of forty-nine, she embarked on a breathtaking journey, not merely to survive but to truly live.
Phoebe was a 1950s housewife, married with four children, and an avid bird-watcher. When she was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and given less than a year to live, she started traveling the world and birding, and she never looked back.
Phoebe ended up living for another 18 years after her diagnosis.
With a heart full of courage and a spirit as wild as the birds she sought, Snetsinger traded the mundane for the extraordinary.
She left behind the comforts of home, the familiar faces, and the predictable routines to venture into the untamed corners of the globe. Her quest was simple yet audacious: to spot more bird species than anyone in history.
Oliva begins this book by explaining the concept of a life list:
“Bird-watching, the way most people do it, is a lot like hunting, which is why some practitioners prefer the more active sounding term “birding”: you have to know where and when to look for Birds, you have to chase them down, and, when you find them, you have to figure out what species they are— often in just a second or two, before they fly away. Tate, like most birders, kept a “ life list” of all the species he'd seen and identified, and he was always looking to add new ones, or “life birds.”
From the towering peaks of the Himalayas to the lush rainforests of the Amazon, Snetsinger's journey was a symphony of wonder and peril. She faced treacherous terrains, endured harsh climates, and even encountered dangerous wildlife. Yet, through it all, she found solace and joy in the company of these feathered creatures.
Snetsinger's passion for birds was more than just a hobby; it was a lifeline. In the face of her mortality, she discovered a purpose, a reason to embrace life with reckless abandon. Her encounters with these magnificent creatures filled her with a sense of awe and connected her to something far greater than herself.
Olivia writes about the first time she heard about Phoebe:
“I decided to write some sort of essay on bird watching, and I called a few bird clubs near my home in Manhattan to see what they had going on. One man misunderstood and thought I was interested in joining his Club. He tried to encourage me. “ Who knows?” he said. “ Maybe you'll be the next Phoebe Snetsinger.” the man had never met Phoebe, but he knew all about her— as most birdwatchers do, it turned out— and he told me a little. That was back in 2001, two years after her death, and I've been piecing together her life ever since.”
Life List is a testament to the human spirit's indomitable nature. It is a tale of courage, resilience, and the transformative power of passion. Through Snetsinger's extraordinary journey, we are reminded that it is never too late to chase our dreams, to break free from societal expectations, and to find solace in the beauty of the natural world.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.