Winging It

A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me

By: Jenny Gardiner

Narrated by: Teri Clark Linden

A gift from an overseas relative, Graycie, an African Gray parrot, arrives in the Gardiner home not long after the birth of their first child, adding the responsibilities of parrot-hood to their newfound parenthood. Jenny Gardiner and her husband were hoping for a docile, beautifully plumed, Polly-want-a-cracker type of companion - but patchily feathered, scrawny, ill-tempered Graycie was the furthest thing from what they envisioned.

In Winging It, Gardiner shares in vivid and hilarious detail the many hazards of parrot ownership, from endless avian latrine duty to discovering the multiple ways a beak can pierce human flesh. Whether she’s swearing at the dog, mimicking the sound of the smoke alarm, or bobbing to the beat of the kids clapping for her amusement, she brings the family joy, laughter, and, sometimes, tears. So why would the Gardiners subject themselves to the crazy behavior of this parrot for so long? Well, because, as the Gardiners realize, Graycie is a part of the family, and just like in any relationship between living creatures, things do not always go according to plan.

A mix of hilarious pet hijinks and a poignant story of family commitment, Winging It is a reminder of the importance of patience, loyalty, and humor when it comes to dealing with even the most temperamental members of the family.

©2010 Jenny Gardiner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

An excellent listen for parrot heads and others.

A really funny book from beginning to end.

The narration was excellent and the story itself is wonderful, comical, and so very real to those who have ever cared for a parrot or other of God's creatures.

As a care giver of an African Grey parrot, I could really relate to the funny moments that occur when human and birds find themselves sharing the same Home spaces. Avery very funny book for everyone.

I'm recommending this book to all of my friends. Hope you won't miss this one.

LOVED IT

Tongue in cheek humor which gave me quite a few giggles while I listened in the car. As a fellow parront every parrot has their unique personality and Gracie has that in spades. Along with hectic reality of life and child escapades and health issues. Add to that dogs and cats. This book is a gem. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Making Comedy out of Neglect?

It's all about how the author irresponsibly gets pets she's not equipped to handle (a dog, cats and a grey parrot) and then blithely ignores their needs. (At one point she decides to breed her cat, and lugs a mail cat around DC in a pillow case.) She says the bird remained in a fairly wild state because she didn't have the time to deal with it -- I say, make the time or re-home the poor suffering animal. She tries to turn the results of her neglect into hilarious comedy about how the bird bites and screeches, but she lacks the wit or prose style to do so. She may have loved this bird, but she mistreated it for decades -- that's not funny or heartwarming.

Abuse disguised as witless comedy

This book left me heartbroken over the lousy treatment suffered by this parrot at the hands of these clueless people. I'm sure they meant well, but they seem to have a bad habit of taking in animals they have no clue how to care for. Having a clean cage and general area, which seems to be the author's main concern as she goes off on a tirade about how messy parrots are and how far they can projectile poop, is her idea of carrying for this parrot. Yes, birds are breathtakingly messy, and it makes you wonder if she did ANY research at all before accepting this bird into the family's life. Idon't belive she did, as Grace spent the first many years of her miserable life with them stuck in their basement! As anyone with a bird knows, birds (but especially the larger breeds like parrots, cockatoos and macaws) are highly social creatures and they need to be centrally located in the household so they can see and experience all that's going on in order to be happy and well adjusted. No wonder she screamed constantly! It was for attention and I was ready to scream too at the author! The author is just too timid & fearful to approach or interact with Grace, so she gets warning bites. Yet neighbors and friends with confident nature's are able to pet Grace without issue. This proves that Grace isn't a "wild" bird as the author claims. The author is so immature & clueless that she actually believes that it's her friends "accents" that Grace is drawn to that allows them to pet her. Umm...no. Birds can sense BS. And so can this reader. I couldn't finish it as it left my stomach churning on how little attention and stimulation Grace received from this family over the years; a very unhappy existence for such a long-lived beautiful parrot. They should never have kept Grace, but rather done the responsible act of kindness and rehomed her with someone who knew how to keep and raise a happy parrot. This book is a whine-fest and the author doesn't have the writing chops to lay down a witty enough turn of phrase to call this a comedy. Skip this one.