Pelicans and the Science of Souls
Rebecca Coffey
THE STORY:
He had spent more than 40 years teaching ancient Greek philosophy and its largely bygone ideas about intellect, souls, the divine, and what comes before and after our lives on Earth.
She had spent more than 30 years as a science journalist working across biology and physics. She also drew a bit. When he died, she had been making him a book of fanciful pelicans.
By the end of the day that he died, the first event resistant to her scientific explanations had happened.
Pelicans and the Science of Souls is a grief memoir by the science journalist. Her partner, a widely recognized Plato scholar, “visited” her for many months after dying. In an effort to understand the persistence of their bond, the journalist examined ancient Greek ideas about the soul and afterlife alongside key concepts from quantum physics, particularly entanglement. The book is illustrated with pelican drawings she made for him.
This book is perfect for readers of memoirs including Sebastian Junger’s In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife and Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.
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ISBN (paperback) 979-8-9932607-2-3.
ISBN (ebook) 979-8-9932607-1-6.
LCCN 2026941704.
Advance Acclaim
“It’s artful, naked, philosophical, passionately irrational and rational at the same time, with a wonderful contrast between goofy, playful illustrations and the emotional intensity of memories.” — Corey Powell, co-Editor in Chief, OpenMind
“This book is a gem. Utterly original, with gorgeously witty illustrations, it deals lightly but profoundly with the processes of grief. It has vast humour and wisdom. ” — Scottish naturalist Esther Woolfson, author of Between Light and Storm: How We Live with Other Species
“A poignant and vulnerable exploration of grief, healing, and inquiry. Blending personal reflection with scientific inquiry, the author weaves together raw emotion and intellectual contemplation, leaving readers to contemplate the mysteries of life, death, and everything in between.” — Astronomer Kelsey Johnson, author of Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
Author Rebecca Coffey
Rebecca Coffey has contributed science journalism to Scientific American, Discover, Forbes, Salon, The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, JSTOR Daily, Dame, Psychology Today, Vermont Public Radio, and the Genetic Literacy Project. She has appeared on syndicated talk shows like WNYC’s The Takeaway, WAMC’s 51 Percent, Fox News’ Happening Now, The Bob Edwards Show, The Jim Bohannon Show, The Stephanie Miller Show, NPR’s Air Talk with Larry Mantle, and on major-market programs produced by NPR affiliates in New York, Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Albany, and Indianapolis. She regularly speaks at colleges and universities, at conferences, and on podcasts.
