SHORT BIO
Rebecca K. O’Connor is the author of the award-winning memoir Lift published by Red Hen Press in 2009. She has published essays and short stories in South Dakota Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Los Angeles Times Magazine, West, divide, The Coachella Review, Phantom Seed and Prime Number Magazine. Her novel, Falcon’s Return was a Holt Medallion Finalist for best first novel and she has published numerous reference books on the natural world.
REBECCA IN THE MEDIA
Rebecca is quoted in the article “Hunting for Food, Finding Responsibility” in Nourished, a Canadian online/print magazine that explores the psychology of food and the meaning of eating.
:: Publisher’s Weekly Gives Lift a Starred Review:
Novelist and nature reference author O’Connor (Falcon’s Return) crafts a lyrical tribute to the spiritual connection between humans and birds in this memoir of the excruciating, transformative process of training a peregrine falcon: “Falconry is a religion, a way of thinking, a means of experiencing life.” Indeed, readers will find almost as much spiritual content as natural. Despite O’Connor’s icy-clear voice, her descriptions of training a young male falcon are fascinating for bird lovers and civilians alike: “when the falcon connects a high-speed dive… the duck remains a piece of the sky and only its body careens to earth.” Surprisingly, periodic flashbacks to a troubled childhood—an abusive stepfather, an absentee mother—bolster her story rather than distract, turning a falcon’s “serious and unmerciful” eye back on her own life, and discovering inexplicable wells of generosity and forgiveness for the family who wronged her. O’Connor packs a lot of intelligence, poise and feeling into a few pages, making this a consistently rewarding read. ~ Publisher’s Weekly, November 2009
:: Library Journal recommends Lift to “anyone interested in bird hunting or wildlife” and says, “O’Connor’s love of the hawks infuses the story with an addictive, violent intensity.”
:: Dan Barnett reviews Lift at the Chico Enterprise-Record, saying that “Like the talons of a raptor, the deeply felt words of the memoir dig into the reader and won’t let go… There’s a lesson here, and it’s not just about falcons.”
:: Insight host Jeffrey Callison interviews Rebecca about Lift on Capital Public Radio in Sacramento. Listen here.
:: Sonoran News writes that “Lift is a great read for anyone interested in what life lessons can be learned working with the most free of nature’s creatures, birds” and discusses Rebecca’s other work and passions.
PHOTOS FOR PUBLICITY
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Photographs by Priscilla Iezzi
PRESS RELEASES & PROMOS
November 2009 ~ Lift: A Memoir
Find out about Rebecca’s new memoir, Lift, published by Red Hen Press.
Lift: A Memoir – Book Jacket
Download a PDF of the full book jacket for Lift.
Sample Interview Questions with Rebecca
IMAGES TO USE
- Rebecca’s logo:
For print (zip)
For web (zip)
Both print and web zip files include a file with white background and a file with a transparent background.
- Lift: A Memoir – Sell Sheet
