TY - BOOK AU - White,Chris TI - The life list of Adrian Mandrick: a novel SN - 9781501174308 (hardcover) AV - PS 3623 .H57263L54 2018 U1 - 813/.6 23 KW - Anesthesiologists KW - Fiction KW - Bird watchers KW - Families KW - Life change events KW - Compulsive behavior KW - Self-actualization (Psychology) KW - FICTION / Literary KW - bisacsh KW - FICTION / Family Life KW - FICTION / Sagas KW - Domestic fiction KW - Psychological fiction N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index N2 - "H Is for Hawk meets Grief Is the Thing with Feathers in this evocative debut novel about a pill-popping anesthesiologist and avid birder who embarks on a quest to find one of the world's rarest species, allowing nothing to get in his way--until he's forced to confront his obsessions and what they've cost him. Anesthesiologist Adrian Mandrick is filled with contradictory impulses. He wants to be a good husband to his wife and a good father to his children; he wants to forgive his once-beloved mother for the crime she committed and the long lost father who accused her. But when he receives a call from his mother after years of silence, he takes solace in the very pain medication he prescribes, spiraling downward into addiction. His sole source of true comfort is his "life list"--the all-encompassing record of the 863 bird species he's spotted and identified. His is the third longest list in all of North America. But when Henry Lassiter, the legendary birder who held the region's second longest list, dies suddenly, Adrian seizes the opportunity to make his way to the very top. A desperate search for the extremely rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker eventually leaves him stranded in the thick swamplands of Florida's panhandle, where he is forced to confront his past and present failures, to reflect on what his obsessions and addictions have cost him, and to question what is truly important in his life. Combining wry humor and mystery with environmental adventure, The Life List of Adrian Mandrick is a fast-paced, engaging story that heralds the arrival of a new literary talent"--; "In this evocative debut novel, a pill-popping anesthesiologist and avid birder embarks on a quest to spot the extremely rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker, allowing nothing to get in his way--not his wife's growing concerns, not his children pulling away, not even his own dark family history that's dredged back up when tragedy strikes--until he's forced to confront his obsessions and what they've cost him"-- ER -