A Bird Alone by Ericka Clay Book Review and Author Interview

We all know someone who has had it rough. I’m not talking about the friend who tends to spill coffee on themselves each morning or the relative who is always behind on their bills. I’m talking about people who have had one catastrophic thing happen to them after another, and somehow, they remain upright and even moving forward, bracing for the next impact.

Author Ericka Clay explores an extended family connected by violence, tragedy, and personal demons in her novel, A Bird Alone. Below is my review of the book followed by an interview with Clay.

A Bird Alone plot summary

Marge, a widowed mother with two children, is hobbling through life after the sudden death of her husband. She spends her days carrying for her son Garrett, a young boy with autism, and sparring with her teenage daughter, Whitney, who has just found out she’s pregnant.

Whitney takes her news in stride, believing that she, her boyfriend, Jamal, and the baby will live happily ever after. But shortly after the birth of her son, Whitney learns a shocking secret about Jamal and makes an impulsive decision that alters the lives of her family, Jamal’s family, and later, her son’s.

The story

A Bird Alone is a very character-driven story, rich with backstories, character analysis, and powerful dialogue, all filtered through the lens of the author’s devout Christian perspective. The story is very raw in its depiction of these characters, their hardships, and pretty much any horrible thing that can happen to person happens to one of the characters in this book.

It’s a tough read, one that can bring you down in an attempt to empathize with these fictional but very real scenarios. Like real life, it doesn’t wrap up neatly, but it does teach a lesson. That lesson is that there are consequences to people’s actions, and it’s not about undoing them but moving forward in the aftermath.

Clay never gets graphic with her depiction of the most upsetting moments. She tells you just enough to give you the gist, instead focusing on the different characters’ perspectives in dissecting how they got from point A to point B.

The characters

The story is populated with characters of different walks of life. Marge’s hardships have made her bitter and pessimistic, but it doesn’t keep her from catching the eye of optimist Walt who stands by as she continues to get pelted by troubles, both her children’s and her own. Walt is the only bright spot in the novel, a man devoted to his faith which allows him to roll with the punches and ride out every storm with Marge.

On Jamal’s end, his secret becomes the inciting incident that propels us into the second half of the book. But beyond that, we follow his father Franklin, a pushover who bottles up his own injustices. Their family history helps to show how Jamal and Whitney’s son, Travis, barely stands a chance in this world, but it doesn’t keep them from giving up on him.

Whitney, on the other hand, leads with her emotions. After losing her father at a young age, she’s desperate to rebuild that family life that was left in pieces and in which her mother was emotionally incapable of picking back up. But while her mother’s disconnectedness creates a broken family, Whitney’s irrationality completely destroys hers.

Without giving anything away, the story jumps ahead to the late 90’s, and we see both mother and son in similar circumstances. The side characters get their moments to analyze and take action to find some retribution of the past. And those with the strongest faith tend to have the happiest ending.

My recommendation

I recommend A Bird Alone to anyone looking for a tearjerker family drama. Maybe it will make your problems seem more manageable, or at least relatable.

There is a heavy Christian perspective to the story which I know will polarize readers. But it’s not an advertisement for Christianity, just a story that happens to feature thoughts by Christian characters.

I do appreciate the character-driven nature of the book, but I do feel like this caused some very important moments to be glossed over. That and the time jumps keep the book focused on the internal dialogues rather than allowing the characters to interact with each other and for there to be more concrete action throughout. And overall, I’m not quite sure I fully understand the message of the story.

But Clay is gifted at crafting very real characters with very distinct and descriptive thoughts. And she has an overall positive message to share that, even if things don’t get better for us, they could get better for the future generations with enough time and faith.

My rating

An interview with Ericka Clay

Did you outline the plot before you started writing, or did it come about as you went along?

No, I’m what you would call a “pantser,” in that I write by the seat of my pants. I start to get an idea for a character and an opening scene, and as the book develops, the plot develops too. Typically, by the end of the book, I do have the ending mapped out in my head but loosely.

Did you do any research for this novel?

I did. I heavily researched the different time periods portrayed (this book spans from the 1950’s to the late 90’s). I also researched the Elaine Massacre, which was the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history. This book covers racial tensions in Little Rock during the 80’s and 90’s, and I wanted my readers to understand the root of the tension between my characters.

What made you decide to start the book in the 80’s and end in the 90’s? Do you have a favorite decade in particular (even a decade not depicted in the book)?

I had already written an unpublished piece about Marge when she was younger, and when I did the math, it would have worked out that she was an adult with kids during the mid-eighties, so I went with it. And yes! I’m a total 90’s kid so that’s my hands down favorite. I mean where else in time does the Tickle-Me-Elmo make sense? Nowhere. That’s where.

Do you have a favorite character?

I hate saying it, but it’s like picking your favorite child. I do really love Marge because she’s one of those people who you know is a good soul way deep down, and you want the best for her.

And Walt, I love him. He’s the Christ-figure in the book because he’s always giving himself sacrificially and loving like we’re all taught to love others.

Who would you want to play your main characters in a TV show or movie adaptation of your novel?

Oh geez, I’ve thought about this, but they’re so different than your typical movie actor or actress, that it’s hard to fathom! I get a Kathy Bates vibe with Marge, and I can see Jeff Daniels playing Walt.

What do you want readers to take away from your novel? What advice do you have for those struggling through tough times like those in the book?

I wanted this book to answer, “Why do we suffer?” We all do, often on a very deep level. As a follower of Jesus, I already know this life is going to be hard because He said it would be so.

There’s a lot of evil, a lot of sin that hurts us and hurts the ones we love. But I know that Jesus, His love for all of us, is the hope we have in this world. And when I face the darkness, I remember how Jesus said He already overcame it, so what I’m going through is a momentary trouble no matter how big it feels, and I have to focus on that truth no matter how my feelings want to skew it. And to work through those momentary troubles, we really need each other.

I used to be the quintessential “I hate people” person, but I came to a point where I realized I didn’t hate others, I hated myself. And when God showed me how much He loved me and how worthy I am of that love, I was able to see others as worthy, too, because who am I? How am I any better than anyone else? I’m not.

So, by loving God and loving others, we truly create a place where we can suffer and grieve in His presence. And there’s no greater peace than understanding the darkness of our circumstances but also knowing the light has already won. That’s been my prayer with A Bird Alone all along. That other can feel that light.

Your next book has been announced as a memoir. What do you find the most fun about writing in each genre? The most challenging?

The memoir has been an easy write since it’s in epistolary form and each letter has its own beginning and ending. I find that creative non-fiction is my jam, so this project has probably been my easiest so far.

For novels, I love seeing how they develop and watching my characters say and do things I wasn’t initially planning for them to do. On a small level, I often wonder if this is how God works. We have free will, and yet He’s quietly there next to us, working out the details and weaving all things together to create the ending. And I have my degree in poetry, so poetry is merely just me being me on the page, something I truly love.

Any plans for a sequel?

No, not right now. I’m always considering doing one, maybe for this book or one of my others like A Violent Hope. I do often wonder where my characters end up in life. So, we’ll see!

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