The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Book Overview

In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a Neohelix albolabris --a common woodland snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater under...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565126068
• ISBN13: 9781565126060
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Beautifully written

I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy this book. However it is so beautifully written and the story is so heartwarming it’s like you’re there with authors.

A new time zone

As human doings going this way and that, talking on this phone or that, buying this item or that, driving here and there; we miss that which is the essence of living life. We are blinded to the miracles that surround us and support us while we are trudging this earthly walk. Because of a disease, the author is forced to transition from a busy human-doing into a human-being who witnesses the miracles of life while experiencing a debilitating disease. She travels into a different time zone where she is able to slow down and appreciate the strength and busy activities of a wild snail that has found its way onto her table side. Bailey's observations from this alternate time zone provide insight into what might be the answer to our cultural disease of distraction and busyness. She demonstrates that living this life, whatever our circumstances, can be joyful and full of gratitude. Acceptance of our circumstances we cannot change is the key to serenity. The temporary changes in our activities and self beliefs we must be willing to make in order to live through difficulties carry the solutions to our current problem. We learn something new and then come out stronger for the experience. Though her life is full of physical imperfection, her heart and soul are fulfilled and serene. The author takes what she is able and lives a glorious, if not perfect life while she recovers from a long-term chronic illness. And after all, doesn't life throw each of us some kind of curve ball every once in a while? The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a great example of a human being making the best of a sad situation and still finding gratitude in the opportunity to witness the miracles that surround us.

Truly interesting and inspiring

It was on a trip to the Alps that Elisabeth Tova Bailey first felt weak and ill. Not really being concerned, she continued her explorations but in a day or two she found it difficult to move at all let alone get out of bed. Somehow she manages to return home to Maine but she continues to spiral downward. In very short order, Bailey is flat on her back, laid low by some exotic micro-germ. That is how The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating opens. Like other reviewers I want to warn you that this isn't a tell all expose about her illness. Bailey mentions it in passing only occasionally and never does it become the center of the book. In stead, the star of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is just that, a small snail. A visitor to Ms Bailey finds a wild snail in the woods near her house. With a visit to the stricken author the objective, the she picks up the snail and also digs up some near by violets which she pots. The visitor deposits both with the author and is on her way. It is from humble serendipities that often reveal true magic to us if we are patient. Bailey keeps the snail and in very short order becomes captivated with its comings and goings. Initially the snail lives under the foliage of the violet and explores the surroundings, in and out of the clay pot, at night. Eventually the snail is moved to a terrarium. Observing the snail daily, Elisabeth Bailey becomes curious about behaviors she is witnessing. She gathers an impressive array of resources with which to read about mollusks in general and snails specifically. It is this learning and study that we are allowed to share. If you're curious, check out the sources she sites at the end of the book. I've seen hundreds of terrestrial snails in my life time and to be honest I never paid a lot of attention to them. That is my loss. I found Bailey's descriptions of the life of a snail fascinating. Reading her descriptions is not like reading a dry tome filled with interesting but busy facts about snails. She does share the information she learns, but wrapped up in her explanations is a wonder that comes through loud and clear. Her almost child like wonder at sharing what she's learned infects the reader with the same awe and surprise that she experienced. I won't spoil the experience of reading The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. Trust me, this is a book you'll probably want to add to your personal library and will certainly want to recommend to your friends. I highly recommend. Peace to all.

Endearing sensitive memoir

"Survival often depends on a specific focus: A relationship, a belief, or a hope balanced on the edge of possibility. Or something more ephemeral: the way the sun passes through the hard seemingly impenetrable glass of a window and warms the blanket, or how the wind, invisible but for its wake, is so loud one can hear it through the insulated walls of a house." The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating records a year in the life of author Elisabeth Tova Bailey--a year in which she struggled for her survival as her focus was lost, her mobility all but gone and her passion for life trapped inside a body that no longer cooperated with her wishes. With grace and wit, Bailey shares the story of the impact that an ordinary, humble creature, a wild snail, had on her during this trying year, and all of the lessons she learned as she lay motionless, observing in minute detail the everyday rituals and wanderings of her tiny companion. An active woman with many interests, Bailey became not only housebound but bedridden when she was felled by a mystery illness. She was moved from her own familiar farm home to a small studio apartment to receive the care she could not give herself. For most of the day, Bailey felt anxious and heart-wrenchingly alone. "When the body is rendered useless, the mind still runs like a bloodhound along well-worn trails of neurons, tracking the echoing questions; the confused family of whys, whats and whens and their impossibly distant kin how." She became distraught, wondering how, or indeed if, she could make it through. One day, a visiting friend went for a walk in the nearby woods, returning to Bailey's bedside with a pot of field violets in which she had placed a snail. Bailey gave little thought to it, except to wonder if it was feeling disturbed to be out of its element, much as she was. Then she began to watch it move, out of the pot, into the bowl below, exploring its new surroundings. She fell asleep thinking she would probably never see it again, but when she awoke, she saw her new companion back in the pot under a violet leaf and a square hole chewed in an envelope propped nearby. Worried that a snail could not live on paper alone, Bailey set out some withered flower petals near the pot. Within minutes, the snail was contentedly chomping on the petals--and Bailey could actually hear it in the silence of her room. "The sound was of someone very small munching celery continuously...the tiny intimate sound of the snail's eating gave me a distinct feeling of companionship and shared space." This would prove to be a turning point for Bailey. Time weighed heavily on the author, causing her to ponder, "Time unused and only endured still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs, no memory, no traces." She also noted, ironically: "It was perplexing that in losing health I had gained something so coveted but to so little purpose." In the end, it was her gastropod guest who lent some rh

Uplifting and fascinating, with no hidden agenda

"...the snail had emerged from its shell into the alien territory of my room, with no clue as to where it was or how it had arrived; the lack of vegetation and the desertlike surroundings must have seemed strange. The snail and I were both living in altered landscapes not of our choosing; I figured we shared a sense of loss and displacement." Elisabeth Tova Bailey was in her mid-thirties when struck with a mysterious illness that soon led to her complete incapacitation. Without knowing the cause, much less the cure or the course that it might take, the disease was a frightening visitor. One day, a friend stops by with a rather odd gift. A snail, from out in the yard. First placed in a flower pot and eventually a terrarium, the snail becomes Bailey's constant companion. Because of her lack of mobility and energy, much of her time was spent observing the creature. You might think this would be dull, or worse, that you'd be stuck listening to someone bleakly describing their every physical complaint. Not so. This book has very little to do with health issues and far more to do with curiosity and resilience. Bailey is not a complainer, actual details of her health are few and without self-pity. She doesn't simply give up either, she makes clear she wants to fight this unknown assailant on her life. That she does so with the help of a small snail is astounding. The first surprise is that snails have a daily routine. They have certain times to eat and sleep and travel. They often return to the same place to sleep, and they sleep on their side. (!!!) As she watches the daily activities of the snail, she manages to study research on snails in general and in detail. Turns out snail research is pretty deep...volumes have been written on every tiny detail. As in: snails have teeth, 2200+ of them! Seriously, if they were bigger you'd think twice about stepping on one. They also have a special talent for when the going gets tough in their little world: they start a process called estivation. It's not hibernation (they do that too!) but instead it allows them to become dormant when the weather goes bad, or they lose their preferred food source, etc. Some snails have been known to estivate more than a few years. The process of sealing off their little shell is fascinating, and a study in insulation. Then there's the romance. Researchers have studied that too, and I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say lady snails are not complaining about romance in their life! Male snails really knock themselves out on the charm aspect. So much of the research that is out there is fascinating, and Bailey sorts through it and shares the most interesting details. This isn't just a science project for her, she sees parallels in her condition as well as the snail's. Illness took her out of her social circle, and her life seemed slow and inconsequential. And snails usually are a typical example of slow and inconsequential living:

A Healing Book

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey is a healing book. While a woman recovers from a life-threatening condition she has the time and patience to observe one small wild snail. Her thoughts, research, and experiences help her, and us, to heal our damaged relationship with the world of nature. The result of careful and heartfelt observation of even the smallest bit of life can not only enrich a life but also find and give life anew. This book is the perfect gift for anyone recovering from a set-back or in need of inspiration. I love how Elizabeth, while appreciating the small things of life, also brings in haiku. Perfect.