Most of us think of owls as either symbols of wisdom or inscrutable birds of prey. After reading Wesley the Owl, you’ll know them for the first time as intensely emotional, fragile and devoted creatures, as distinct in personality and loving in nature as any human being.

O’Brien was a young biologist at California Institute of Technology when she was asked to adopt an injured four-day-old owlet. It would be no easy task; as soon as the baby owl opened its eyes, it would bond with her for life.

But O’Brien said yes, knowing this was an extraordinary opportunity to study one of the night-roving raptors up close, learn its behaviors and document the experience for her fellow scientists.

She couldn’t have imagined how completely the owl would change her life. In this charming memoir, O’Brien charts the relationship from Wesley’s infancy as a tiny, pterodactyl-like ball of fluff to adulthood, when his love for his caretaker became a sometimes-jealous passion. O’Brien also shares what she calls the Way of the Owl—a blueprint for living that requires absolute fidelity, honesty and accountability as well as love.

There are some fascinating stories here about owl behavior. Though Wesley’s injured wing gave him an awkward gait and clumsy flying technique, O’Brien learned never to laugh at him, because the owl was capable of deep hurt and shame. And in later years, when chronic pain made O’Brien consider suicide, she chose to live, knowing that Wesley—like all barn owls who lose their mates—would simply perish of grief.  

As O’Brien recounts the almost-20-year-bond bond between human and animal ( Wesley the Owl has been called “ Marley & Me with wings”), she is compelled to consider a greater love, one that defies scientific reason and proof. This is a marvelous little book.

By Marjorie Preston

Marjorie is Managing Editor of Casino Connection Atlantic City.