The Sound of Birds

By Joshua Lerman

The Sound of Birds is the story of Mimi Rizner, a neurodivergent woman who finds herself prisoner in a psychiatric hospital in the late 1990s. She battles villainous nurses, dubious patients and a ghost that she believes lives inside of her, all while trying to reckon with her past. Mimi recounts several time periods that she believes may be the source of the tangle that her life became. She remembers growing up on the road, in her family Volkswagen camper van, going from one rock concert or campsite to the next, untamed and untethered. When her family finally settles in San Francisco so that she can attend high school, she struggles to assimilate. Other than the solaces of her crush Jared, her little brother Ethan, and her love of painting, Mimi is harshly rejected by a world that she doesn't understand.
Amidst the vibrant pulse of 1980s New York City, Mimi tries to make it as an artist and is given another opportunity at love. Whether it be the fates working against her or her own interior chaos sabotaging her, she struggles to hold onto what blessings enter her life.
Mimi continues to unravel, struggling to keep a job and the ground under her feet. She never would have thought that she would end up living in Richmond, Virginia with Donny, her forklift-driving man, but somehow, there she is. It's a warm bed. And company. And that's about it. Donny is often unkind and has a temper. Things escalate to a breaking point and a regrettable act leads to Mimi's life spiraling beyond her control.
The Sound of Birds tells of the struggle of a woman to find her way in a culture that doesn't make room for her. Mimi's release from the hospital hangs in the balance, as does her faith in a future for herself.

"A contemporary debut novel about a woman's journey through mental illness.

Mimi is a sympathetic first-person narrator. Throughout her life, she has found release in painting, and this depiction of her as a tortured, troubled artist who sees things differently and feels things more deeply helps to make this sometimes-difficult character easier to appreciate. The story moves briskly along, aided by jumps back and forth in time and curiosity about Mimi's reputation for violence and her teenage romance.

A tragic but ultimately uplifting tale of one woman battling personal demons."

- Kirkus Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0C2S1JHKX
• ISBN13: 9798391906117
• Release Date: April 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"