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BOOKS I READ: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (2014). Falconry and grieving are braided in this encompassing memoir. As Macdonald’s mourns for her father, a well-known photographer, she is caring for and training Mabel, her new goshawk. We sense the upswell of grief while Macdonald labors with the apprehension that comes from flying her wild hawk, training her predator to return to her arm. Macdonald writes about the books of T. H. White, and about the writer, as foils for her own insecurities. White wrote about Old England, King Arthur, and Merlyn, including The Sword in the Stone. More importantly, White also wrote a book on training a goshawk that haunts her.
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