His for Hawk: A New Chapter
Birds of prey helped Helen cope with her grief after the loss of her father…
ten years ago, Helen Macdonald’s life was shattered when her father, Alisdair, died of a heart attack. Overwhelmed by grief, Helen, a keen falconer, decided to immerse herself in the challenge of trying to train a goshawk called Mabel.
‘Ever since childhood I’ve been totally obsessed with birds of prey,’ she says. ‘When Dad died, I had a compulsion to train the most scary and fearsome bird of all – a goshawk.’
It turned out to be a cathartic experience that helped Helen channel her grief, and when she wrote a novel about it, her book H is For Hawk became an international bestseller.
A new chapter
Five years on, and with her story having gripped readers worldwide, Helen jumped at the chance when she was asked if she would train another goshawk chick, called Lupin, on camera.
‘I knew it would bring up a lot of emotion as the last time I’d done it was following Dad’s death,’ admits Helen, who lives in Suffolk. The result is a moving documentary that follows Lupin from birth to her first ever flight under Helen’s guidance.
Helen still misses her dad and Mabel, who’s also since passed away, but the success of her book has changed her life.
‘I’ve had discussions with readers about bereavement,’ she says. ‘Everyone goes through periods of darkness, but we’re all in it together.’