Synopsis

What’s the first thing you notice when you step out the front door? For me it’s the birds. The chip chip chip of someone in the park that I don’t know. Who’s that?
Followed by the warm familiar coo-coo of feral pigeons–properly called Rock Doves–living high up in barren city spaces that resemble the cliffs they once inhabited. And then there’s the haunting mew of seagulls who’ve adapted to urban life because there is food when we humans have fished the sea dry.
Why are we endlessly fascinated by birds? What is it about them? So many obvious facets: the ability to fly, their quirky habits, the variety, their character, and fluid song. The groups they form, the homes they build, their travel plans.
Birds are this and so much more. They tell us what is to come, they tell us how it is. They are our heralds. When the planes were grounded, when the traffic stood still, when we walked and cycled and ran instead, the birds bounced back, and we heard their song. The flutey calls of the blackbird, remind us of summers past and show us how life unfolds around us when we are mostly too busy to notice.
Studies show that spending time with birds is restful, and reassures at a deep level. We have known birds and watched them for millennia. Bright goldfinches on city streets, murmurations of starlings once viewed over the Firth of Forth, the ‘chist’ of a greenfinch back from the brink of extinction, due to some fungus on their food. Birds mark the seasons. They show us the cycle of life.
In my late 40’s at an uncertain time in my life, in an uncertain relationship, I began to look to nature for reassurance. And I got it, especially from the birds. In them I found familiarity. I found consistency. Birdwatching was a touchstone for stress. When yoga no longer worked and I felt more wound up after the class than before, when nights were broken by memories of old traumas resurfacing, there was always the thrill of observing birds, of being charmed by their presence. It's easy to get hooked. And birdwatching is light on the environment, as this book shares.

Through my thousands of hours of birdwatching, I bring a wealth of natural health knowledge and observational skills to the table. Bird Is the Word is an invitation to pause and quietly observe, listen and immerse into a magical world that we’ve almost forgotten. The state we can achieve is what we need to balance the dysfunction of our digital lives. Bird Is the Word reminds us that we can reconnect, find sanctuary, and meaning. Are birds the key to survival and navigating the world in which we find ourselves? It's most definitely a wonderfully enlightening option.

I first used homeopathy when my son had a cough at 4 months old. My GP offered medicine with a sedative in it. I knew instinctively that I didn’t want to give him medication with potentially adverse side effects, so I went in search of something that would heal without harm. At a local natural health centre, I encountered a holistic view of health. The practitioner we saw wanted to know ‘who’ my son was, as well as ‘how’ the cough was for him. She explained that she was looking for a remedy to fix the whole person, not just the cough. What she prescribed worked. I was hooked.

Soon after I saw her myself for help. Most new mums experience new and conflicting emotions. Becoming a mum is a huge adjustment and old issues can resurface. The remedies she gave helped enormously and homeopathy soon became our family’s first choice for first aid and childhood illnesses. Later, when my children started school, it helped with emotional knocks, exam nerves, and teenage tears. And then eventually led me to become a practitioner.

After school, I studied Fine Art Textiles at Goldsmiths & worked as an independent designer until I had my children in the early 1990’s.
I began to study homeopathy in 1994, firstly with Stella Berg and then with the renowned Robert Davidson at the College of Practical Homeopathy. I graduated with my Licentiate in 2000 and went on to postgraduate study with both Robert Davidson & Robin Murphy. Since 2005 I’ve added the Narayani Remedies, Australian Bush Flower Essences, Alchemy Energetics, and the CoRe Inergetix programme to my practice.

Along the way, I reconnected with my childhood delight of looking at patterns in nature and studied permaculture and gained the Permaculture Design Certification in July 2013.

I use permaculture principles to create sustainable systems for clients & small businesses. I teach homeopathy and lecture extensively in natural health and supervise both students and practitioners.

Bird Is The Word is one piece of my life's work and now is such an important time to introduce it in an increasingly physically uncertain and disconnected world.

Sales arguments

• Contributed a piece to The New Hot by Meg Mathews, The essential, sassy “girlfriend’s guide” to cruising through menopause, (Penguin Random House, 2021)
• Has Health & fitness social media following of 5000, and a client database of 3000, and Health & Fitness community, Corporate & Celebrity endorsements, Contributor pre-orders
• Has hosted webinars for thousands of attendees on Managing Menopause Naturally, Heavy Metals & Metal Remedies, Environmental Toxicology, Flower Essences, Combination & Narayani Remedies and Using Homeopathy at Home.
• Has hosted client & practitioner workshops from Doha to Dunedin on Managing Menopause Naturally, Balancing Your Hormones, Detox Your Life, Understanding Your Yoga Body, Adrenal Burnout, Eating Organic Without Breaking the Bank & How to Have a Healthier Thyroid.
• Speaker at Meg’s Menopause Conference, Homes for Harringey, Islington Council, Slough Homeopathy Forum, SW Homeopaths, Doolally Mental Fitness app.

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Audience

For those interested in a survival guide for the digital age and well-being.