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    The Hummingbird: A Novel
    The Hummingbird: A Novel
    The Hummingbird: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Hummingbird: A Novel

    Written by Stephen P. Kiernan

    Narrated by Elyse Mirto and John H. Mayer

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the author of the acclaimed The Curiosity comes a compelling and moving story of compassion, courage, and redemption.

    Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. But her skills and experience are tested in new and dramatic ways when her easygoing husband, Michael, returns from his third deployment to Iraq haunted by nightmares, anxiety, and rage. She is determined to help him heal, and to restore the tender, loving marriage they once had.

    At the same time, Deborah’s primary patient is Barclay Reed, a retired history professor and expert in the Pacific Theater of World War II whose career ended in academic scandal. Alone in the world, the embittered professor is dying. As Barclay begrudgingly comes to trust Deborah, he tells her stories from that long-ago war, which help her find a way to help her husband battle his demons.

    Told with piercing empathy and heartbreaking realism, The Hummingbird is a masterful story of loving commitment, service to country, and absolution through wisdom and forgiveness.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 8, 2015
    ISBN9780062416599
    Author

    Stephen P. Kiernan

    Stephen P. Kiernan is the author of the novels The Curiosity, The Hummingbird, The Baker's Secret, Universe of Two, and The Glass Chateau. A graduate of Middlebury College, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, he spent more than twenty years as a journalist, winning many award before turning to fiction writing. He has also worked nationwide on improving end of life medical care through greater use of hospice. Kiernan lives in Vermont.

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    Reviews for The Hummingbird

    4.5/5

    38 ratings28 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Both excellent and unusual. To put together 3 story lines so uniquely is well, just plain wonderful .There was so much emotion left in me as the stories ended, I had to sit quietly and just feel. Powerful.Definitely a book to be read and acclaimed by many. It was a privilege to early review it.
    • 5/5
      Deborah Birch, is a hospice nurse, in Portland, Oregon. She is very good at her job, but her home life is a mess. Her mechanic husband, has returned from Iraq, after serving three deployments. He is not the same man she married and he is tormented by many horrors. This may be the biggest challenge of her life.Adding to her woes, is her current patient, Barclay Reed, a retired history professor, who is a crabby, self-absorbed jerk, who is dying from kidney cancer. Their relationship deepens, as Deborah reads to him, an unfinished manuscript, that he wrote, about WWII. This sets them on a journey, of discovery, forgiveness and healing. It also sets Deborah on a path, of how to help her husband through his nightmares and demons.This novel was such a nice surprise. The writing was solid and it avoided any heavy-handedness or sappiness, that could have plagued such a story. The author handled it, with a sure and steady hand.
    • 5/5
      I have to admit that it was the title that first drew me to this book as I love anything at all to do with hummingbirds. Although there was only a slight reference to the meaning of the title in the book, this gorgeous novel did not disappoint in any way.There are actually three stories in this book. The first deals with a very caring hospice worker, Deborah Birch, and her work with a patient, Barclay Reed, who is a professor and expert on the Pacific Theater of World War II. Deborah is assigned the tough cases and Professor Reed is certainly a tough nut to crack. Their developing relationship and journey toward the end of Professor Reed’s life is a beautiful and emotional one. The gift Deborah receives in return for her loving care is indeed a priceless one.The second story deals with Deborah’s husband, Michael. He’s a severely damaged war veteran dealing with the memories of the atrocities that he’s encountered and the ghosts that haunt him. Their story will break your heart as her husband struggles to heal and they try to piece their marriage back together.The third story is an extraordinary one about a World War II Japanese pilot who fire bombs a forest in the US and his journey towards redemption and forgiveness. It’s one that you won’t soon forget and I found it to be a very powerful lesson.I’ve read a few reviews saying that this book is sappy. I don’t like sappy books and didn’t find this one to be sappy at all. I thought it was beautifully written, moving, touching and emotional with strong insight into the human soul. The author has a true heart of a poet. I can’t wait to read his first novel, “The Curiosity”, although it sounds like a very different type of book.I won an ARC of this book through The Reading Room with the request that I give an honest review.
    • 5/5
      The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan is an emotionally gripping very highly recommended novel with three distinct themes. It covers hospice care, PTSD, and a WWII Japanese bomber.Deborah Birch is an experienced hospice nurse in Portland, Oregon, who knows that it's not about her. She firmly believes that "every patient, no matter how sick or impoverished, gives lasting gifts to the person entrusted with his care." This is why she sweeps her thumb down the back of a wooden hummingbird that a patient carved for her before she sees a new patient. She has been called into assist retired professor Barclay Reed, an expert on the Japanese in WWII. Reed has terminal kidney cancer and no family. He is bitter and tests each new nurse - and he's had many.Deborah also believes that the measure of a vow does not lie in upholding it when things are easy, but, rather, your commitment is proven in times of difficulty. Her husband Michael is surely testing the strength of her vows. He has returned from his third deployment to Iraq a changed man. He is plagued by nightmares and anxiety. He is distant, cold, angry, and terrified. Deborah is desperate to find a way to help him recover and save their marriage.After Deborah makes a breakthrough with Professor Reed, she confides in him about the difficulties with her husband. He is sure that he knows the secret to helping Michael. Reed feels that to help Michael, first Deborah needs to understand the code of a warrior. Although Reed left his academic career amid a scandal, he has the book he was working on at his home. He has Deborah read the book aloud to him.The book is about WWII Japanese pilot Ichiro Soga, a descendant of samurais, who took off from a submarine in a light plane on a mission to bomb the forests in Oregon. Soga later atoned for the bombing. Reed is sure that the story will give Deborah the key to help Michael on the road to recovery. But, she must promise that she will decide if the story is true only after reading it and without consulting any outside sources. Between chapters of the novel is the professor's story of Soga. As the professor worsens (and perhaps Michael too), the story of Soga unfolds.Kiernan does an excellent job handling the three themes. The information and stories of past cases Deborah shares as a hospice nurse is heartbreaking, but her commitment to her work is clear; her patience is laudable. You can see her courage, care, and temperament demonstrated in her current job helping Professor Reed. Then there is Michael's PTSD and Deborah's commitment to help him. It is certainly another timely topic and a real problem that many families face. The final subject is Soga's story, which is based on a real person, Nabuo Fujita, and real historical information.The quality of Kiernan's writing is admirable. The novel flows smoothly and held my rapt attention beginning to end. But, most of all, Deborah is a wonderful, fully realized character. I like her.It's always a pleasure to read a book that gives a nod to the intelligence of the reader and that is the case here. We have three very different topics all making an appearance in this novel, and all three are interesting and worthy of a novel in their own right. The message of absolution and forgiveness is timeless and is integrated into all three storylines, albeit in different ways. The two are a part of the story, while the story of Soga is truly a story within the novel itself. It was an effective way to integrate Soga's journey into the present daily activity.Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.
    • 4/5
      A touching story written in a way that takes you right to the heart of Deb, a hospice nurse whose husband has returned from duty with a diagnosis of PTSD. Their struggles have put their lives in disarray yet Deb is determined to make it work. A new client helps her to deal with Mark in a unique way.I felt many emotions as I read through the pages of this sometimes predictable book but it ended with my feeling satisfied and pleased. I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I was lucky enough to get this book through the Early Reviewer program. I picked it up last night and read it straight through way past my bed time. It's about Deborah Birch, a hospice nurse with a damaged veteran husband and a long forgotten piece of history set in World War 2. The hospice aspect was not depressing but very enlightening. The WW2 section was fascinating and based on fact. This book will be out in September. I can recommend it with out reservation.
    • 3/5
      I've also read "The Curiosity" by Mr. Kiernan and enjoyed that one very much. This one is about a friendship between a hospice nurse and her patient, a scandalized retired history professor. There's also an interesting Word War 2 story that is spread throughout the novel.The book is a little sappy in parts and I found the way characters talked and acted towards each other kind of head-scratching. But overall it's a very interesting book with a satisfying ending.If you enjoyed his last book, you'll enjoy this one.
    • 4/5
      Deborah is a hospice nurse who is currently taking care of a grouchy professor who is dying alone. She has been a hospice nurse for many years and she loves her job and the people that she takes care of and sees it as a part of life that she is honored to help her patients go through. On the home front, her husband Michael has just returned from his third tour of Iraq with severe PTSD. So while she is helping patients during the day, she is also trying to help him fight his demons during the night and trying to restore the marriage that they once had. Can the stories that the professor tells her about WWII during the day help her with her husbands problems? I found this book very difficult to put down once I started reading. I loved Deborah and the way she treated her patients. Even though the subject matter could have been very sad it was well handled and basically uplifting instead of being depressing. A must read and a great book for book clubs.
    • 4/5
      The Hummingbird is the second novel by distinguished journalist Stephen P. Kiernan. This story provides a very human, sympathetic view of a hospice provider, Deborah, and her husband who has PTSD from multiple deployments to Iraq, and her patient, a dying historian named Barclay Reed who is an expert on the World War II Pacific theater.The voice of Deborah is well-written and the hospice care descriptions in the novel were very moving and compelling. The interspersed chapters of Reed's story about a World War II Japanese reconnaissance pilot were meaningful but might be more fascinating to history readers.
    • 4/5
      The Hummingbird, by Stephen Kiernan is an emotionally moving novel about one woman’s search for wisdom and understanding. Barclay Reed was a history professor in the height of his career, but now retired and in hospice with cancer and under the care of Deborah Birch, his life experiences and wisdom become important players in Deborah’s quest to help her husband, Michael, who has served several times in Iraq and is struggling with his own emotions and memories forged by the ravages of war. Beautifully written, The Hummingbird transports readers to the time of World War II, and back to the present seamlessly as Kiernan shows how Deborah’s compassion for her dying patient breaks through generational and personality barriers to unlock the hope and wisdom Deborah needs to guide Michael through his own ordeal. The Hummingbird is a novel that shows how, in our moments of greatest need, we find ways to overcome obstacles. It is a truly heartwarming story of how life can be enriched even at the hour of one’s death. I would highly recommend The Hummingbird to all book discussion groups as the multilayered storylines offer a lot to digest and discuss.
    • 4/5
      The Hummingbird is a poignant tale of war, redemption and the end stages of life. A hospice nurse, a troubled war veteran and a dying disgraced professor are compassionately portrayed, and their lives are beautifully connected. This is an unforgettable story that resonates with the struggles man faces of letting go of guilt, betrayal and of life itself.
    • 5/5
      Many thanks to librarything.com for the advanced uncorrected proof of The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan in return for my honest review.I generally will not read morbidly depressing stories, regardless of their literary merit. Thus, I was hesitant about reading The Hummingbird as the subject matter of the book alternated between Hospice care and the rehabilitation of an Iraqi war veteran severely damaged emotionally during his third deployment. However, this book surprised me in the very best of ways. This was a fascinating novel. I just loved it. Yes, the story was about death and the cruelties of war, but it was so well done, and despite the subject matter, was one of the most hopeful and inspiring stories that I have read in a very long time. It is a smart, thought-provoking book. The main character, suffering with her own personal family matters, was a tender and incredibly kind care-giver who dedicated her life to making terminally ill patients feel cared for and loved in their final days. There were a couple of issues though, I absolutely hated that the main character and her husband called each other "lover". It was distracting and somewhat irritating. Additionally, the main story is disrupted with excerpts from a book documenting a WWII Japanese pilot responsible for dropping incendiary bombs over the Oregon Coast, but who subsequently dedicated his life to making amends for his actions and being a symbol of peace. These excerpts initially were confusing and broke the flow of the main story, but subsequently became less distracting and even enhanced the novel. I highly recommend this book, and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
    • 5/5
      In The Hummingbird, Stephen Kiernan combines three separate plot threads to tell his story so seamlessly that shifts between plots are hardly noticeable. One side plot involves the problems that nurse Deborah Birch's husband is having in readjusting to civilian life after returning from his third deployment (a tour in which he served as a sniper) to Afghanistan. Another recounts Deborah's day-to-day experiences as a hospice nurse dealing with a particularly irritable and demanding patient. And the third side plot is a piece of World War II history called The Sword, written by Deborah’s irritable patient himself, a little book that she is reading aloud to him at his bedside. Taken together, the three threads tell a touchingly beautiful story that just might have happened exactly this way in a perfect world - a story with an ending that I was, of course, rooting for, but one that is, in reality, an unlikely one. But that's a minor criticism because I found myself willing to suspend my skepticism for the duration of the novel and, at the end, I felt so good about the way things worked out for Deborah Birch that I was ready to stand up and cheer. Stephen Kiernan had me all the way.Michael Birch is filled with guilt and rage and he barely communicates with his wife these days, much less touches her or allows her to touch him. Deborah knows that he is having nightmares and she fears what that combination of emotions might drive him to do. She has heard all the stories about returning veterans who suddenly explode into violence (or suicide) and she worries that Michael is capable of both. Perhaps Deborah is lucky that her new hospice patient, Barclay Reed, is proving to be such a challenging man because dealing with the retired historian demands so much concentration and creativity on her part that she has no time to worry about Michael's situation during her work day. And, as the days go by and Mr. Reed has not fired her as he did several other of his previous caretakers, she finds that both of them are enjoying all the verbal "jousting" that comprises their day together. But it is when Reed asks that she read to him from the last book he was working on before his illness that the two really begin to understand and appreciate each other.The Sword is Reed's recounting of a World War II incident that has largely been lost to time. It seems that (and this is factual, by the way) a lone Japanese submarine reached the coast of Oregon, complete with a small aircraft its crew could quickly assemble. Along for the ride was a specially trained pilot whose mission was to drop four firebombs in the Oregon forest in the hope that an uncontrollable forest fire would result - damaging American morale as much as it damaged the forest. But the real story only happened after the war when the pilot was invited back to Oregon by some of the very people involved in putting out the small fire caused by his bombing mission - starting a relationship between the him and one little Oregon town that would last for decades.So how does all of this come together? You'll have to read The Hummingbird to find out - and you will be glad that you did.
    • 5/5
      Deborah Birch is a hospice nurse assigned to tend to Professor Reed in his final weeks or months. The Professor is known for being a bit...difficult. He's already gone through several hospice nurses, and Deborah doesn't hold out much hope that she'll last much longer. Even sweet Nurse Sara with her positive and upbeat personality only lasted three days with the Professor.So what chance does Deborah have with Professor Reed?But as it turns out, the Professor seems to have taken a liking of sorts to Nurse Birch. And at the end, he shares with her his yet unpublished final book about a little known story from WWII and a Japanese pilot by the name of Ichiro Soga.Through the sharing of his book, the Professor is helping Deborah to better understand her husband Michael, who is an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD. I really liked Nurse Deborah Birch. She is calm and level-headed and straight-forward. She is a woman of compassion and understanding, but she doesn't pull any punches.Professor Reed is cantankerous, but I actually really liked him as well. He reminded me a bit of a family friend that just passed away at 93 years of age. Presenting with biting remarks and a sharp mind that is hard to contend with, even in his advanced years, he can be a handful. (Actually now that I say that, I realize he reminds a little bit of my father, but "meaner".)I liked the author's writing. It is very easy to read, yet there is some depth to it. I was impressed with the research that must have gone into this story.My final word: I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and fleshed out. The writing I found to be insightful and compassionate. It's an easy read, but not too easy. It includes an interesting peek into World War II, as well as hospice care and therapy, and the sufferings of our soldiers returning home with PTSD. I was a little nervous going in, but actually wound up liking the book quite a lot. I think I will be recommending this one to my book club.
    • 4/5
      You might not think that hospice and war have much in common. But they do. Both concern death in one way or another. Even so, they are opposites on the spectrum. One's goal is to accept and die with dignity. The other's goal is the subjugate and force violent death. There is no winning a battle in hospice; the only release comes with death. In war, a soldier can survive, but the cost is high indeed. Stephen P. Kiernan's newest novel, The Hummingbird, showcases both hospice and war and the lessons to be learned from both.Deb Birch is a hospice nurse who has just been assigned to a new patient. Barclay Reed is an academic whose work was discredited due to accusations of plagiarism. His area of expertise is the Pacific theater in WWII and he's dying of kidney cancer. He's difficult and proud, a curmudgeon with everyone but he develops a grudgingly respectful relationship with Deb. Deb is very good at what she does, defusing difficult situations and finding ways for her patients to accept death with dignity. But she can't seem make this same connection with her husband. Michael is back from his third deployment in Iraq and unlike after previous tours, he doesn't appear to be healing at all from the horrors he was asked to witness and to commit. Their marriage, once so strong, is fraying under the stress. So daily Deb goes from work with a dying man to home and a husband who is dying inside. She is holding tight and trying to discover ways to walk judgment free beside her husband. Astonishingly, Barclay Reed and his unpublished manuscript about a Japanese pilot who dropped incendiaries on the Oregon forests during WWII might be giving her the tools to do just this.There are three distinct plot threads here: Deb caring for Reed, Deb and Michael's agonizing emotional distance as a result of his combat experiences, and the story of pilot warrior Ichiro Soga during and after the war. The tale of Soga inspires Deb's attempts to help Michael, which in turn offer Barclay Reed a vital lesson even in his waning days. In a few instances the lessons from one to the other are too easy. Even so, they do show us how we can learn from all human experiences, how to accept, how to forgive, and how to go forth to whatever awaits us with courage and peace. That the story of Ichiro Soga is based on a true WWII story, although fictionalized to serve this particular plot, is fascinating indeed. Deb is really the main character here though, caring as she does for the people in her life with secondary charactrs Reed and Michael adding dimensions to her as a caregiver.Kiernan has written a touching novel about healing, forgiveness, and peace. His rendering of PTSD and the ways in which we routinely fail our returning soldiers, so unprepared for regular non-combatant life, is heartbreaking and scary. Deb's job as a hospice nurse is one that has to be difficult, especially as she tiptoes around Michael, trying to reach him in ways similar to the ways she is trying to help Reed reflect back on the important things in his life. Just as these characters grapple with what and who we carry with us, out of guilt or love, throughout our lives, the reader will also carry the lessons they impart. An emotional and nicely done novel about the peace we can find in death or acceptance, this has something both for historical fiction fans and those interested in the post war lives of our soldiers.
    • 4/5
      Deborah Birch is a hospice nurse who finds herself caring for and befriending a grumpy history professor as he dies of cancer. "Nurse Birch" and "Professor" resonate with one another despite the professor's sturdy defenses and stubborn self-reliance. As his vulnerability leads him down a path of accepting help, he shares an unpublished book he has written, "The Sword", which describes the failed and unacknowledged aerial attack on the Oregon coast by a Japanese pilot during WWII. Is the story true? Is it factual? Meanwhile, Deborah's husband, a three-deployment veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is clearly a wounded warrior with whom Deborah wishes deeply to reestablish connection. The professor's story, as well as the occasional pearls of wisdom he (sometimes inadvertently) shares with Deborah lead her to actions that provide the space for her husband's healing. A treatise on forgiveness and compassion, as well as a meditation on the meaning and power of the process of death, this novel captured my attention and held it. I rooted for Deborah as she strived to find a path into the professor's authentic self, and as she brought her authentic self to her relationship with her husband, challenging him to intentionally shed his terrors and meet her physical and emotional embrace. Two men to whom Deborah was saying: let me help you. "We live our lives on a whole planet, seeing and learning and going from place to place. But eventually there arrives a time for each of us, when our world becomes smaller: one house, one floor of that house, and near the end, one room, one little room to which our whole gigantic life has been reduced." This novel is a compassionate and poignant exploration of themes of death, forgiveness, resolution, redemption, and -- possible most important -- the healing power of human connection.
    • 3/5
      In a Nutshell: Deborah Birch is a gifted hospice nurse experienced in guiding her patients and their families through the struggles of death and dying. Barclay Reed is a disgraced historian turned ornery old man who has summarily dismissed numerous nurses before turning to Deborah to see him through his final days. As Deborah struggles to care for the lonely, angry old man who challenges her to read the unpublished manuscript of the book that saw his career go down in flames, she also faces a challenge at home, that of her PTSD-afflicted veteran husband, Michael. As good as she is at helping those facing the hardest struggle of their lives, it may be that only an angry professor on his death bed can help her reach her husband before it’s too late.The Good: The professor’s book happens to cover a little-known piece of World War II history (spoiler alert!!!!) that is based on actual events. Though its appearance interrupted the rest of the narrative, the story was a compelling surprise to me. (Okay, that’s all with the spoilers.) Deborah’s first person narrative of her successes and struggles as a hospice nurse is a unique window on what has to be one of the most difficult yet valuable professions.The Bad: Deborah occasionally seems like a female character being written by a man, which... she is. She and her husband’s pet name for each other is “lover” and the way she lusts after her husband comes off very ...male. Also, I was consistently irritated that she was so attuned to her patients’ needs but so incredibly tone deaf to the “mood in the room” when interacting with her own husband. Some of Deborah’s experiences in hospice, are bit too textbook-y, as if Kiernan read up on a bunch of manuals about how to practically deal with death and dying and plugged them into his novel in too close to non-fiction format. The Verdict: Somehow I’ve now managed to read Stephen Kiernan’s whole catalog so far, and I can tell you that The Hummingbird is my least favorite of the three. The whole narrative seems a bit wooden at times which kept me from fully engaging with a book that should have been an emotional roller coaster. The Hummingbird has its high points, but it didn’t feel genuine enough to really reel me in.
    • 4/5
      This was an early release book that I just received. The subject of this novel would not, at first glance, appear to have anything in common or be able to become a coherent novel. But everything meshed so well. I really didn't know what to expect and was so taken with the story I completed it in two days. I was completely unaware of the WWII story in Oregon so I always like to learn about historical events that seem to be buried. My mother was in hospice so it was an interesting retrospective as to how a nurse might feel taking care of patients in the last months of their lives. And my brother suffers from PTSD from Viet Nam but fortunately not as bad as Michael. I thought that Kiernan's writing expertly wove these themes together to make the story so relevant as to what is happening in the world today. Some readers may not care for the ending but I thought it "wrapped" up the story without being to sappy or righteous.
    • 3/5
      This story follows Deborah as she's caring for her newest, prickly hospice patient, an author of an unpublished book called The Sword. The chapters are split between her story and the chapters of his book. She's also caring for her veteran husband suffering from PTSD.I have issues occasionally where a male author has a female lead. They just don't always ring true. Like when Debroah described how hard it was to watch her husband while,he lifted weights. Not because all the sweat and grunting was kind of off-putting, but because she was too intensely turned on and wouldn't be able to hold herself back. That just....ugh.The book is fine, but not amazing. I found THe Sword to be distracting and was most intrigued by the hospice story. That was incredibly interesting. I cared about the characters and was only thrown off slightly by the sometimes unrealistic portrayal of a woman.
    • 4/5
      When the time comes -- and it does come for us all -- we should all hope for a hospice nurse as caring and committed as Deborah Finch. Perhaps Deb is not as skilled or entertaining as her flamboyantly gay colleague, Timmy. Nor as spiritual or quietly calming as Sara. But she is packed with compassion, tact, persistence and the ability to handle some of the hardest cases. The most challenging of all may be Barclay Reed, who has already run his way through Timmy and Sara. It's now left to Deb, who must call on every resource jousting with the cantankerous former professor. As if that weren't demanding enough, Deb is also at a loss as to how to support her damaged soldier husband, Michael, home from three tours in Iraq. As the novel progresses, so does the convergence of the lessons learned from one relationship to the other. Interspersed throughout is yet a third plot line involving a WWII Japanese pilot. To tell much more would involve too many spoilers. Suffice it to say, Kiernan manages to bring all three together to a satisfying conclusion. I found this beautifully written, with tremendous emotional impact. Kiernan wrote movingly and convincingly from a female perspective. Despite the subject matter, this was a lovely and ultimately hopeful meditation on how we all can tend to one another's distress.
    • 4/5
      Deborah Birch is a caring hospice nurse and only wants to make things easier for the dying and their families. She is also a loving wife and has no idea how to help her husband, Michael, heal from the psychological wounds he suffers as a result of fighting in Iraq. Barclay Reed is a former college professor and dying from kidney cancer. Deborah enters at the end of Barclay's life in The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan.Deborah begins her time with each client by reviewing their records in the office and gently caressing her totem, a small wooden hummingbird. That hummingbird is a symbol and a reminder "to see the person behind the problem." Deborah has had difficult patients and difficult families to tend to in her years as a hospice nurse, but Barclay Reed is perhaps one of the most tragic. Mr. Reed, or Professor Reed as he has Deborah call him, is dying without friends or family. His 30+ year career ended in a huge scandal, so he isn't even leaving behind the legacy of his good name. To say the Professor Reed is somewhat cantankerous is a major understatement. He wants what he wants, how and when he wants it. Sadly, in his quest to get what he wants he has gone through three hospice agencies and several hospice nurses. Deborah is determined to provide him not only what he wants but what he needs. Over the course of Professor Reed's final weeks, Deborah learns more about the man and his final work that caused the scandal, The Sword. What is the lesson Deborah will learn from assisting Professor Reed?"If you think of a person, anyone, even someone you dislike, if you imagine for a moment how one day they will lose everything—family and home and pleasures and work—and people will weep and wail when they die, you cannot help it: You feel compassion for them. Your heart softens. What's more, every single human being is going to experience this same thing, without exception: Every person you love, everyone you hate, your own frivolous struggling self. It is the central lesson of hospice: Mortality is life's way of teaching us how to love." The HummingbirdYou might think a story about a soldier suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a dying professor might be overly sad and morbid, but The Hummingbird is simply a darn good story. Mr. Kiernan takes the current happenings between Deborah, Professor Reed, and Deborah's husband Michael and alternates it with the story of a Japanese WWII pilot that firebombed Oregon and returned as a guest of the city years later. Michael is just as trapped by his sense of guilt over his actions as a sniper, as well as a sense of honor by serving his country as the Japanese pilot was in the past. Deborah must decide if she believes the Professor's story and if she can find something that might allow her to help her husband. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hummingbird and found it to be a riveting read. Seriously, I pulled an all-nighter just to finish the story and I'm way too old for all-nighters. I enjoyed the characters, the storylines, and the settings. Mr. Kiernan has a deft way of writing that pulls me into his stories with just a few pages. He deals with death, dying, and the trauma of war in a realistic yet sensitive manner. If you read The Curiosity then you'll definitely want to read The Hummingbird. If you haven't read The Curiosity, what are you waiting for . . . read it and then read The Hummingbird. I'm looking forward to reading more from Mr. Kiernan in the future.
    • 5/5
      The story chronicles the lives of a hospice nurse caring for a cranky history scholar while coping at home with her husband and his PTSD. Very well written with no loose ends at the end! The author is well versed in history and hospice. He writes in both the male and female voice. Probably more of a woman's book but some men would enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book. Does not sugar coat either death or war.
    • 3/5
      The story of Deborah Birch, a hospice nurse married to a war veteran suffering from PTSD, is interwoven with a story written by her current patient, a curmudgeonly professor, about a Japanese pilot who launched the only mainland attack on U.S. soil during WWII. This is a light and enjoyable story. Readers will undoubtably learn something they didn't know about hospice care, Japanese culture, or war in general. My criticisms: The characterizations are a bit flat, people are a bit too good or too bad. The storyline is a bit predictable and convenient. Recommended for those looking for a "beach read."
    • 4/5
      The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan is a story of life and death through the eyes of a hospice nurse, Deborah Birch. There are two storylines, first the caregiver is working with a disgraced dying college professor accused of plagiarism while writing about a Japanese airman who dropped bombs on Oregon during World War II. The nurse is also dealing with her husband home from his third deployment from Afghanistan who is experiencing life threatening PTSD. Kiernan ties these storylines together beautifully as Nurse Birch gathers information on each person including the airman to help her administer help to her patient and her husband. I loved Kiernan’s The Curiosity but this book is completely different. The Curiosity is a book about a spectacle and it is fascinating. The Hummingbird offers a glimpse into the reality of dealing with damaged humans at critical times of their lives.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book as it shows how people deal with dying in different ways. I especially admire anyone who can work in a hospice and can care for the critically ill on a daily basis. I thought this book could have delved a little deeper into the return of soldiers from Iraq and their reintro into society and lack of help.
    • 4/5
      The academic life work of of a dying professor intertwines with the professor's hospice nurse's husband's war-time traumas. The author writes about a WW2 Japanese warrior and a contemporary Iraq war veteran, and how to heal, or how to start the healing of battle wounds long after the war is over.In between these war stories, the old academic is trying to make peace with his own life and the imminent end of it. Beautiful writing, kept me going.
    • 5/5
      A couple of years ago, author and journalist Stephen P. Kiernan made his fiction debut with his novel The Curiosity. That book, about a man reanimated from death, showcased Kiernan's aptitude for a creative character driven story that defied the confines of traditional genres and left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of readers. In his sophomore novel, The Hummingbird, Kiernan trades in the high concept premise of his debut for a more intimate narrative that is remarkably understated, but equally affecting.Deborah Birch is no stranger to death. As a hospice nurse, she helps people and their families to pass over with dignity, compassion, and peace. Shepherding her patients to the other side brings Deborah slices of insight about life, family, and love, all of which she relates to her own life and to those of future clients. But all of her past experiences have done little to prepare her for the challenges that she currently faces. Deborah's husband, Michael, is a war veteran who is struggling to acclimate to his life outside of the military. Three tours as a sniper in the Middle East have left him a shell of his former self and caused a rift between him and his wife. Anger issues caused from PTSD only magnify the fear and uncertainty in the couple's rocky relationship. Try as she might, Deborah can't seem to break through to the man she loves so deeply. The challenges are only intensified when Deborah enters the home of her latest patient Barcalay Reed. The former history professor is facing an incurable illness that will soon end his life. He spends his days alone in his sizable estate on the Pacific Coast, thinking back on his academic career and the disgrace that led to its demise. Ridiculous demands and an abrasive temper have made it impossible for Reed to keep a hospice nurse for more than one day at a time. As the fourth nurse from her company to attend to Reed's needs and with no surviving family to intervene, Deborah is his last hope. Slowly, a mutual trust and understanding begins to form. Reed is a bitter and jaded old man, but underneath that hardened exterior lies a fiercely intelligent man full of knowledge and wisdom about history and life. As Deborah and Reed grow closer, they begin to share about their lives. Deborah tells him of the problems with her husband, and Reed tells her of the last book he was working on. This book, about a Japanese pilot bomber in WWII, was deemed as fabricated plagiarism by Reed's colleagues and became a scandalous end to his distinguished career. As Reed approaches his final days, he has Deborah read from this book and wills her to come to her own opinion about its validity. Kiernan's quietly nuanced writing paints a breathtaking portrait of life, death, and human interaction. The novel alternates between the present day story of of Deborah and Reed with the story of the Japanese WWII pilot seeking redemption from his actions in the war. This alternating narrative device seems to be quite popular in literary fiction these days, but can sometimes make a novel disjointed and difficult to follow. Fortunately, the two stories of this book weave effortlessly with each other as the story of the past becomes a kind of metaphor for the one that is presently unfolding. Kiernan takes what could easily have been a sappy, sentimental tale and elevates it to a deeply moving experience that will stay with you long after the final page. With this poignant novel, Kiernan eclipses the success of his previous effort and reaches a maturity that cements his place as one of the top authors writing today.