Summary

In "When Women Were Birds," Terry Tempest Williams embarks on a deeply personal and introspective journey, grappling with the complex legacy of her mother's death and the inheritance of her blank journals. At fifty-four, the same age her mother was when she passed, Williams confronts the enigma of these empty journals, transforming them into a canvas for exploring themes of voice, silence, and the multifaceted experiences of women. The book delves into the unspoken expectations placed upon women, the power of withholding words, and the struggle to find one's authentic voice within a culture often defined by silence and imposed silences.

Williams weaves together personal anecdotes, family history, and reflections on nature, Mormon culture, and feminist thought to create a rich tapestry of interconnected ideas. The narrative explores the author's relationship with her mother and grandmother, examining how their lives and choices have shaped her own. The book also touches on the impact of Mormon expectations on women, particularly the cultural emphasis on journal-keeping and childbearing. It's a story of family secrets and traditions, and unspoken desires, that Williams slowly uncovers through dreams, nature, and her memories.

As Williams writes in her mother's blank journals, she explores the concept of "erasure," both as a means of obliterating unwanted words and experiences and as a form of self-expression and control. She investigates the power of silence, both as a choice and as a form of censorship, and explores the challenges women face in finding and asserting their voices in a world that often seeks to silence them. Nature is an important symbol throughout the book, used to emphasize the fluidity and interconnectedness of the natural world and our lives. The story is less about the journals themselves and more about what it means to be a woman, a writer, and a daughter coming to terms with her inheritance.

Throughout the book, Terry Tempest Williams grapples with these questions of finding a voice. The book is a meditation on silence, voice, and the intricate relationships between mothers and daughters, and its message is a clarion call to honor our own stories and voices and to use them to connect with the world around us. In coming to understand her mother’s silence, Williams finds her own voice and the courage to share it with the world.