“Alfie & Me”

by Fran Withrow 05.2024

Safina’s book, “Alfie & Me,” is the author’s chronicle of how he rescued Alfie, a screech owl, from near death and nursed her back to health. But this thoughtful book is not just about an adorable owl and how she learns to take her place in the wild. Safina uses his experience with this owl as a basis for discussions about how humans interact with nature and what that means for the future of our planet.

These observations about nature are intertwined with Alfie’s endearing story. I loved reading about this charming owl, but it was Safina’s insights about our world that led me to pepper the pages with dozens of sticky notes highlighting his most important points.

Safina says Westerners in particular believe the world is here only for human consumption. This kind of thinking means we are always taking from the earth; that our relationship with the world is not one of connection and reciprocity. We should all be in a network with each other and with every element around us rather than in a power hierarchy with people at the top. Without these reciprocal relationships, the earth will eventually be plundered to the point where she cannot recover. Citing the works of historians, ecologists, and others, Safina pinpoints the crucial detail we are missing today: mutual connection between humans and the earth.

This is heavy stuff, but Safina offsets it perfectly with Alfie’s story. Safina sits outside at night, trying to observe her as she silently flies from tree to tree. During the day, cars race by and people walk past, oblivious to the owls watching them from above. The relationship between nature and people can be terribly one-sided.

Safina says indigenous and traditional Asian belief systems stress the importance of respect for the earth. “They sought great wisdom. The West sought great power. But power in the hands of the unwise is danger.” Indigenous people exercise restraint in their use of resources, so there is always enough for the future. When we take only what we need, when we are in a symbiotic relationship with the earth rather than one where humans are in control, the earth rewards us with enough for all.

Safina cites examples of hope: when we identify animals not as “it,” but as “they,” meaning they are seen as more than mere objects, our perception of the earth changes. India, for instance, in 2013, ruled that dolphins are “non-human persons,” so they cannot be held captive, and have certain legal rights. Legal rights for animals and natural areas are being approved in other countries as well.

Safina’s story of a child whose grandfather took him to the lake and told him to stir up the water exemplifies our careless attitude toward the earth who nourishes us.  “Now put everything back,” says the grandfather after the child gleefully stirs up mud, silt, dirt, and leaves. And of course the child cannot put it back just as it was before. “So proceed thoughtfully,” Safina says, “reversing course may not be an option.”