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Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl | 
| Author: Stacey O'brien
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
Buy New: $15.64
You Save: $7.36 (32%)
New (22) Used (10) from $12.40
Rating:  80 reviews
Sales Rank: 645
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 1416551735
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.97
EAN: 9781416551737
ASIN: 1416551735
Publication Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien first met a four-day-old baby barn owl -- a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet's ability to fly was forever compromised, and he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley the Owl is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together.With both a tender heart and a scientist's eye, O'Brien studied Wesley's strange habits intensively and first-hand -- and provided a mice-only diet that required her to buy the rodents in bulk (28,000 over the owl's lifetime). As Wesley grew, she snapped photos of him at every stage like any proud parent, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, macho adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. Stacey and Wesley's bond deepened as she discovered Wesley's individual personality, subtle emotions, and playful nature that could also turn fiercely loyal and protective -- though she could have done without Wesley's driving away her would-be human suitors! O'Brien also brings us inside the prestigious research community, a kind of scientific Hogwarts where resident owls sometimes flew freely from office to office and eccentric, brilliant scientists were extraordinarily committed to studying and helping animals; all of them were changed by the animal they loved. As O'Brien gets close to Wesley, she makes important discoveries about owl behavior, intelligence, and communication, coining the term "The Way of the Owl" to describe his inclinations: he did not tolerate lies, held her to her promises, and provided unconditional love, though he was not beyond an occasional sulk. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. Enhanced by wonderful photos, Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heartwarming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty. It is sure to be cherished by animal lovers everywhere.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
The Way of The Owl & The Harmonizing of Opposites... January 3, 2009
Arcturus70 (In the Orion Spur of the Milky Way Galaxy)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
With nearly eighty reviews at the time I write this, there probably isn't much more stellar insight that I can give, which hasn't already been given so much more eloquently. However, I will add my voice to the growing collection in appreciation for the amazing story and for the brave author. This book, for me, was one of my "on a whim" buys. I was poking around for information about owls one night, and the book popped up in the particular search that I was doing. The cover appealed to me, the "Look Inside" feature captured my attention, and I was indeed interested in learning "The Way of the Owl" concept because I actually wondered if it could be compared / contrasted in any fashion to "The Way of the Tao" of Chinese philosophy, the embracing of harmony, allowing nature to take its course, the recognition, yet appreciation for opposites, Yin Yang, etc. I know that is a strange connection to have made! However, something in the preview material I read and the circle-shaped picture on the cover--with the lady and owl--inspired that line of thinking and questioning. Here was a vivid, modern story filled with opposites, all in the process of achieving harmony: male-female; human-bird; civilized-wild; diurnal -nocturnal; educated-uneducated; pain-pleasure; confusion-calm; discomfort-comfort; life-death; hopelessness-hope; weakness-strength; truth-lie; cowardice-courage; good-bad; safety-danger; protection-distruction; spare-kill; justice-mercy; natural-unnatural; predator-prey; fingers-talons; freedom-captivity --to name only a few! I wanted to experience the story for myself. Also...being something of Harry Potter fan, I am attracted to owl stories or clever owls as characters within stories. So, I ordered the book in the expectation that there would be some genuine connections and nuggets of wisdom, spirit, hope, compassion, humor within the pages.
I actually read (perhaps the verb should be devoured) the book the same day it arrived in the mail! LOL :) And yes! I found a few intriguing connections in Wesley's Way (his own owl nature) and with Taoism's "letting nature have its course." "Wesley the Owl" is NOT a book on Taoism or really any particular religion, yet one cannot help but find some strong (inspiring) spiritual threads in this beautiful tapestry of love, devotion, and life. As the story unfolds, readers see that the unreleasible wild owl, of course, is a being of nature, still operating according to his own deep instincts and simple interpretations of the world, though he, for his survival, must adapt to live in human environments just as his human companion, Stacey O'Brien, must adapt to live with him as he is, feathers, mice, and all. He and his human mommy-mate work together to achieve a new harmony--a balance, where opposites beings are married to the same "greater than self" ideas: routines, rhythms, relationships, sacrifice, and trust. For me, the most stirring statements in the book that capture all my ramblings above are these:
"To that which you tame, you owe your life" (Page 18). And O'Brien's story proves this!
"It seems to be universally understood among all sentient animals, even reptiles, that the eyes are the windows to the mind of the being within." (Page 53-54; HP fans will appreciate this passage.)
"Owls do not tolerate lies" (Page 95).
"I had chose to tame him and thereby made him vulnerable. I had taught him to trust me implicitly, no matter what. After so many years this trust was perfect and unbroken.....the Way of the Owl. You commit for life, you finish what you start, you give unconditional love, and that is enough. I looked into the eyes of the owl, found the way of God there..." (Page 211).
Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher, is credited with saying, "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage" and "I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures." [quotes from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors /l/lao_tzu.html] Wesley the Owl's story definitely exhibits the first quote. Stacey O'Brien, her family, her friends, and special barn owl created a powerful, life-preserving, life-enhancing circle of love that is refreshing in today's fast-paced, ego-driven, often selfish world. Both Wesley and Stacey were saved by love. // Through working with Wesley, the humans learned to appreciate the three most important lessons of living (treasures): simplicity --in a steady diet of one item, mice; patience--in sharing space with an intelligent, vocal non-human who had his own personality, needs, wishes, fears, expectations, and requests; compassion--in the daily, weekly, monthly, yearly care-giving to a wild animal that might have otherwise have died.
So, in my opinion, this is a book worth reading. I enjoyed it from cover to cover because it opened my mind to new worlds and to new perspectives on ideas related to philosophy, science, and humanity. I would recommend it for those who are considering "wild pets," especially for HP fans who are thinking how cool it would be to have an owl! I would recommend it for newlywed and for new parents. I would recommend it for high school and college reading lists. However, due to some of detailed descriptions and events in the book, I think the readers should be at least 13 or 14 or better...with adult supervision for young teens, especially those who may have questions or concerns. PARENTS' NOTE: This is a book that openly discusses natural, personal, and often mature topics. Certain parts may create some serious concerns and / or strong categorical rejections for some readers, particularly those who hold certain political, economic, social, moral, or religious beliefs:
1) Preparing / killing the mice for the owl to eat. These sections may disturb young readers if they are not taught about predator-prey relationships or about the care and feeding of unusual animal "pets;" they may disturb readers concerned about animals rights and the ethics of science and scientific research. (I confess to being disturbed by some of these passages myself though I understand that Wesley had to eat, and in his situation, he could not obtain the items himself, naturally from the wild as free barn owls would do. Forgive me, Ms. O'Brien, but I could not keep mice meat in my freezer / refrigerator or use my microwave to defrost it. If a bird lived with me, he would have to be able to stomach turkey, hamburger, and KFC! LOL :)
2) Owl excretions...er... and Owl sex... [No further comment! :) ]
3) Career & life style choices, activities, and attitudes of some of the people within the story, including the author herself.
In my opinion, this book is best enjoyed by those who honor diversity and who keep an opened, inquisitive mind. It can be helpful for those who want to stretch their readerships by exploring people and activities outside of their regular patterns.
 Fascinated by Owls January 2, 2009
Susan Kemp (Reno, NV)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As someone who has worked for the education department of a zoo and has had the opportunity to work closely with owls myself, I could not wait to read this book. While I did get to spend some time with these animals up close, the in depth every day experiences over the course of nineteen years described in this book really enhanced my appreciation of them even more. An amazing story. Read it!!
sweet story January 1, 2009
Bnav (Bay Area, CA)
This story about a baby barn owl that gets raised by a loving human is so cute!!! I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days. It is a super cute quick read.
For those that have a queasy stomach you may want to think twice as there is some stories that involve some, well, not so pleasant stories of feeding the bird.
Funny, sweet and very cute!!!!
Wonderful, Amazing, Touching - I Love This Book December 31, 2008
Uma Mia (Chicago, IL)
I love this book. You can't help but love Wesley. He is completely amazing. I couldn't put it down. There are also amazing life lessons about animals and how to relate to them which makes you rethink how to relate to animals... and people. This is one of the most amazing relationships I've heard of between two souls.
Wonderful and thought provoking December 31, 2008
Maureen M. Martin (Virginia)
This is a great book. I have it on my Kindle, but had to buy a hardback copy to give to my daughter for Christmas. It makes you stop and think. If this one owl could have such a personality then every black bird you see in those flocks of thousands also has just as rich a personality. Every deer in the forest, every rabbit in your yard. Every mouse in your attic. Thought provoking. A true love story.
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