Black Spirit: The Way of the Crow

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Laurie Lacey approaches nature with respect and receptivity. He is open
to messages from his environment, and he reaches for spiritual growth
through his daily contacts with the wildlife he encounters near his
cabin in rural Nova Scotia. It is against this backdrop of spiritual
enquiry

that the emotional story of Spirit the crow is presented.

Lacey acquired Spirit as an injured fledgling, a young crow that had
been hit by a car. For five years they shared the cabin, providing each
other with entertainment, emotional richness, and companionship.

The story of Spirit’s recovery, habits, and adventures is
supplemented with crow legends and with notes from others who have kept
crows as companions and pets. Woven throughout the story of Spirit,
Lacey offers depictions of crows as sacred birds, messengers from the
spirit world, manifestations of basic goodness, and a source of therapy
for the soul.

While there are more scientific and more comprehensive books available
on crows, Lacey’s work is still welcome, for it provides a perspective
that goes beyond the merely informative. It is at once engaging,
entertaining, and thought-provoking. Black Spirit will appeal both to
bird enthusiasts and to those with an interest in Native spiritualism.