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Seven Ravens: Two Summers in a Life by the Sea
This collection is a philosophical and perceptive memoir of a time in author Lesley Choyce's life when he'd been knocked down "several rungs on the wobbly ladder I was climbing." On this journey we meet orphaned raccoons and lost arctic birds, revisit some of the history of Nova Scotia and are accompanied by the wisdom of ancient writers. This is a fascinating, meandering work, filled with gentle humour and unabashed joy at the beauties of the natural world.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Lesley Choyce
131 books123 followersLesley Choyce is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia. He is the author of more than 80 books for adults, teens and children. He teaches in the English Department and Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.
Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen.
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.
Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen.
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 5, 2019
I was struck by Lesley's choice of words that so accurately echoed my own feelings of life by the sea. I grew up in Nova Scotia, along the coast and know how attuned we become to the North Atlantic ocean and it's power to heal during times of personal upheaval and questioning. Each story in this book brings you an understanding of how someone can be healed through a life by the sea.
"I wandered on the beach along a thin ribbon of sand with the sea on one side, an audience of a million rocks on the other..." Such a perfect description of my own walks along Nova Scotia beaches. If you know Nova Scotia at all you know that there are "a million rocks" along any shore. Lesley, I loved this description enough to highlight it in my copy of your book.
The language in some of the chapters took my breath away. For instance:
"On the beach the usual miracles. Sand - one of the great inventions of a twelve-billion-year-old universe. Wet stones, each one a collaborator in the eight in the morning artwork of this place. Seaweed, dollops of it, bright rusty threads of it..."
So many highlighted paragraphs now color my copy of this book. It will be a pleasure to return to those highlights whenever I need a descriptive reminder of my beloved Nova Scotia shores. Thank you Lesley Choyce for sharing your personal stories with such charming detail and love.
"I wandered on the beach along a thin ribbon of sand with the sea on one side, an audience of a million rocks on the other..." Such a perfect description of my own walks along Nova Scotia beaches. If you know Nova Scotia at all you know that there are "a million rocks" along any shore. Lesley, I loved this description enough to highlight it in my copy of your book.
The language in some of the chapters took my breath away. For instance:
"On the beach the usual miracles. Sand - one of the great inventions of a twelve-billion-year-old universe. Wet stones, each one a collaborator in the eight in the morning artwork of this place. Seaweed, dollops of it, bright rusty threads of it..."
So many highlighted paragraphs now color my copy of this book. It will be a pleasure to return to those highlights whenever I need a descriptive reminder of my beloved Nova Scotia shores. Thank you Lesley Choyce for sharing your personal stories with such charming detail and love.
January 6, 2016
This prolific Nova Scotia writer, who lives in a large 200 year old farmhouse on the ocean by Lawrencetown Beach, offers us another excellent piece of writing.
Choyce began this series of recollections when he was fifty years old and continued to write them over a period of two summers. It was a time of both professional and personal trouble for him. At that time, he had accomplished much of what he had set out to do in life. He had travelled widely, moved to Canada, become an expert surfer (he still surfs year round in the cold North Atlantic), taught at university (writing at Dalhousie),and was an accomplished writer (with 70 authored pieces to his name). But his personal life was not doing as well and his marriage was slowly disassembling, heading ultimately for divorce. And thus he hit a very dark period of depression.
He knew he had a good life, so he struggled to figure things out, “right himself”, and feel that “goodness” again through this murky period. As he tried to work out his problems, he turned to the things that had been the strong cornerstones in his life - the natural world and his writing. Walking and writing had always helped to ground him, and the raven, often included in spiritual writings, held particular symbolism for him. He always felt these incredibly large black birds were carefully watching over him. So he decided that walking, reading and writing would help him through this difficult time.
And thus he began a series of walking trips. He would grab his backpack filled with books and writing materials and hike off the beaten paths, continuing his journey until he had seen a raven. Each time he spotted one, he considered it a marker, a time to stop, think and reflect. He would sit down and with keen concentration, observe the landscape around him, read from his books and write in his notebook. When he had encountered seven ravens and made seven stops, he turned around and started home.
These recorded episodic meditations, are the core of this volume. Fueled by an honest attempt to work on his problems and to understand himself and the world around him, he allows us a glimpse into his healing journey. There is no self-pity, just a courageous man’s attempt to figure out his life and share his personal journey with others. He understands that depression is a common human experience and by sharing how he dealt with it, he hopes to help others who find themselves in a similar conundrum.
I enjoy this writer and every one of his four books that I have read to this point. His love of Nova Scotia, his knowledge of the tides and his respect for the ocean, his detailed descriptions of rock formations and the flora and fauna of his new Canadian home are simply and quietly described.
This was a quiet, introspective and thought provoking read and I will continue to work my way through his collection of books.
Choyce began this series of recollections when he was fifty years old and continued to write them over a period of two summers. It was a time of both professional and personal trouble for him. At that time, he had accomplished much of what he had set out to do in life. He had travelled widely, moved to Canada, become an expert surfer (he still surfs year round in the cold North Atlantic), taught at university (writing at Dalhousie),and was an accomplished writer (with 70 authored pieces to his name). But his personal life was not doing as well and his marriage was slowly disassembling, heading ultimately for divorce. And thus he hit a very dark period of depression.
He knew he had a good life, so he struggled to figure things out, “right himself”, and feel that “goodness” again through this murky period. As he tried to work out his problems, he turned to the things that had been the strong cornerstones in his life - the natural world and his writing. Walking and writing had always helped to ground him, and the raven, often included in spiritual writings, held particular symbolism for him. He always felt these incredibly large black birds were carefully watching over him. So he decided that walking, reading and writing would help him through this difficult time.
And thus he began a series of walking trips. He would grab his backpack filled with books and writing materials and hike off the beaten paths, continuing his journey until he had seen a raven. Each time he spotted one, he considered it a marker, a time to stop, think and reflect. He would sit down and with keen concentration, observe the landscape around him, read from his books and write in his notebook. When he had encountered seven ravens and made seven stops, he turned around and started home.
These recorded episodic meditations, are the core of this volume. Fueled by an honest attempt to work on his problems and to understand himself and the world around him, he allows us a glimpse into his healing journey. There is no self-pity, just a courageous man’s attempt to figure out his life and share his personal journey with others. He understands that depression is a common human experience and by sharing how he dealt with it, he hopes to help others who find themselves in a similar conundrum.
I enjoy this writer and every one of his four books that I have read to this point. His love of Nova Scotia, his knowledge of the tides and his respect for the ocean, his detailed descriptions of rock formations and the flora and fauna of his new Canadian home are simply and quietly described.
This was a quiet, introspective and thought provoking read and I will continue to work my way through his collection of books.
December 9, 2010
Part memoir, part nature appreciation, part almost stream of consciousness mulling over of whatever presents itself in the moment. I'm enjoying this slowly as bedside reading. Had just read the part where the author was walking the streets of Halifax for details for another book & bingo, at Word on the Street there he was reading from that other book. Had a nice chat with him after.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews