Field Guide to Lonely Birds by Marvin Shackelford

Fiction

35 pages

8.5” x 5.5” single signature with hand sewn binding

Published March 2023

A couple quarreling beneath a spinning storm. A brother retreating into pixelated comforts. A father with sky-high ambitions for his younger son. A mother and daughter searching for signs of evolution on a beach. A teacher desperate to show her students a winged legend. These are just a few of the wistful stories in Marvin Shackelford's "A Field Guide for Lonely Birds," a flash fiction collection featuring a cast of characters who struggle to connect with one another. As we watch moments in their lives unfold, we are reminded of the loneliest moments in our own lives and of the questions we asked then: Is it possible for us to understand each other? Would our lives be better if we'd said or done things differently? Have we missed our chance to be happy? And if we reach out a hand, will we finally find what we've been searching for?