Coming from a Russian immigrant family of concert pianists who believed that the outdoors were for "other people," author Julia Zarankin did not expect that seeing her first red-winged blackbird at the age of 35 would change her life.

Recently divorced and auditioning hobbies during a stressful career transition, Julia stumbled on birdwatching, initially out of curiosity for the strange breed of humans who wear multi-pocketed vests and carry spotting scopes, eventually becoming one of them.

Julia's book, Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder tells the story of finding meaning in midlife through birds.

Julia will be chatting with Andrés Jiménez, TPL's Environmentalist in Residence (EnvIR) about the inspiration for writing her book and the challenges and joys of unexpectedly discovering one’s wild side and finding community in the unlikeliest of places.

This virtual presentation is the Live & Online version of Toronto Public Library's Our Fragile Planet program series.

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Call or email us if you have a request for accommodation. Let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. Call 416-393-7099 or email accessibleservices@tpl.ca

Writing About Birds with Unintentional Birder & Author Julia Zarankin