This week we’re discussing our autobiography buddy read, H is for Hawk.

Hannah has been for a getaway to Pembrokeshire after the dramas of the haunted cottage (see ep 3) and enjoyed a much-needed reset, complete with dolphins and seals.

Nikki, meanwhile, is off to Florida - Disney awaits! She’s been preparing by cleaning her flat to within an inch of its life, including a long-overdue rejigging of her bookcase.

Spoiler Warning: Full spoilers for plot, themes, and ending.

Trigger Warning: Discussion includes grief and depression.

H is for Hawk (Costa Book of the Year winner) follows Helen Macdonald after the sudden death of her father. In her grief, she buys and trains a goshawk, Mabel, and the book traces that process alongside her experience of mourning and emotional recovery.

We both came into this slightly hesitant about autobiography as a genre. Nikki reflects on being more drawn to other people’s personal stories outside of her own experience, while Hannah talks about expecting autobiography to be a full-life narrative, which this challenged. She was also initially drawn in by her interest in birds rather than memoir.

Key questions we kept circling:

• How authentic can an autobiography be when memory and narrative inevitably shape events?

• Does writing your life story change how you live it?

• Do we expect “truth,” and does it matter if a memoir is more constructed than we assume?

• Is this primarily Helen’s autobiography, or also a biography of Mabel?

We also reference Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert), Wild (Cheryl Strayed) and The Salt Path (Raynor Winn) in relation to wider questions about memoir, authenticity, and reader expectations.

Structure and response

The book’s structure is non-linear and at times meandering, without a conventional narrative arc. That said, the writing is consistently lyrical, with a strong sense of rhythm and quality.

Our reactions shifted while reading; from strong engagement to moments of feeling quite detached.

We both also wanted more context around Helen herself, particularly her relationship with her father. Without that, it was harder to fully grasp the depth of her grief and what came before it.

The T.H. White thread

We discuss the parallel narrative involving T.H. White, which blends biography and fictionalisation. This element divided us:

• What purpose does it serve—parallel, counterpoint, or distraction?

• Does it enhance or dilute the main narrative?

• Why might it be absent from the film adaptation?

We also reflect on the importance of having good people around you and the role relationships play in shaping emotional resilience.

Next episode

We’ll be sharing our current reads and TBR piles. Our next buddy read will be science fiction (much to Hannah’s horror), so stay tuned and do read along with us.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you can rate and review the podcast, it really helps us be found - thank you!

With love, Hannah & Nikki

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