The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

I first heard of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating when I was searching for books related to chronic illness.  Then it popped up as one of the "chronic illness reads" for the Dysautonomia Support Network Book Club.  When I actually cracked opened the deckled edge, I found that this book was not quite what I expected.  It's part self-discovery, part nature memoir, part autobiography.  ETB finds herself bedridden with a severe chronic illness, the only companion she keeps is a snail on her bedside table.  In between ETB's descriptions of her snail's daily habits are deep thoughts about the differences between being a snail and being human, and more similarities than I thought possible. 

Read More