“Who knew I could fall in love with a bird called the albatross? Hob Osterlund did, thatʻs who. And in Holy Moli sheʻll make you fall in love with them—and her—too, in this moving and fascinating book about birds, loss, and finding a true home in the world.”

Cheryl Strayed, Author of #1 New York Times Bestseller Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

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“Holy Moli is a labor of love. The love of magic. The magic of hope. And that’s just the book. Just wait till you meet the birds and the people whose faith tends them. A million years in the making, this is a story of a rekindling of Life’s most blessedly fierce and fiercely sacred flame: return. Renewal. No better tale exists. Lesser tales need not apply.”

Carl Safina, Author of Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival and Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

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“I read Holy Moli with mounting amazement. It’s wonderfully informative; Hob Osterlund also knows the albatross in the deepest sense, beyond science. It’s written with wit and humor and passion and love and pain. It’s lively and vibrant and vigorous. It’s imaginative and speculative and shimmering with implication and intimation. You cannot help but turn the page, which is a delicious thing to say of any book. It’s about a riveting creature unlike any other in the world and perhaps the universe. It’s about reverence and respect and resurrection. Quietly and shyly it’s also about the author, which is how books in which the author appears ought to be and hardly ever are. It’s a remarkable book that I still think about a lot long after I finished reading it, which seems to me the sign of a Very Fine Book Indeed. I hang that sign on this book with confidence and something very much like awe.”

Brian Doyle, Author of The Plover and Mink River

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“The Gulf Coast artist, Walt Anderson, calls birds ‘holes in heaven through which a man or woman may pass.’ The New Mexican sage, Martín Prechtel, calls them ‘an almost molecular presence in our psyches and souls.’ In the spirit of these seers, an orphan named Hob set forth with indefatigable wit, curiosity, eloquence, and a camera named for her departed mom, made a dual home for herself both on the north shore of Kauai and smack dab in the heart of Jesus’ adage Consider the fowls of the air, and the very skies have been served by the interspecies communion that has resulted. Holy Moli is a healing; a hoot; a transmission of gravity-defying wonder.”

David James Duncan, Author of The River Why and The Brothers K

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“It is an act of profound courage for any human being to decide, in these environmentally cataclysmic times, to love a wild thing completely. Hob Osterlund was put on earth to bear witness to the Kauaʻi Mōlī; and in telling that story, reconnect us to our own.”

Pam Houston, Author of Contents May Have Shifted

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“Holy Moli is a remarkable story of observation and healing, of loss and adaptation, of curiosity and wisdom. From the early death of her mother to her present-day role as citizen scientist, Hob Osterlund takes us on fascinating journeys into her family’s past and the daily life of albatross colonies on Kauai. Her affection for these extraordinary birds makes this book a winner. I loved every page.”

Hope Edelman, Author of Motherless Daughters

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“Hob Osterlund is a wonderful writer – intelligent, powerful, full of grace and humor – and she has a wonderful story to tell. Who else could so perfectly describe the sweet smell of an albatross feather or the swelling in her heart when a chick she’s known since the moment of hatch finally takes wing?”

Kathleen Dean Moore, Author of Wild Comfort: The Solace of Nature
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“Holy Moli flows with a funny, lively, unique style—lots of snazzy and jazzy writing, sparkling language, and delightful, entertaining turns of thought. It glitters with a strong, humorous voice.”

Sharman Apt Russell, Author of Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World

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“Holy Moli will grab the heart and imagination of everybody and their mother. Not only is the story at once both simple and epic, but Hob Osterlund–with her generous spirit, her brilliant story-telling, her uniquely qualified perspective and her unflappable charm– will win her an audience who will find nourishment, joy, solace and inspiration in her writing.”

Gina Barreca, Author of They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted

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Holy Moli touches a deep chord that reverberates in all our hearts. Wondrous mysteries of life and death and nature and the webs of interconnections. Hob Osterlund’s journey of healing leads to an incredible gift for all of us; her wise and witty words and exquisite images wake us up to the world of one of the most amazing creatures on this planet, the albatross. So grateful for Hob’s teachings that encourage us to really see and soar.

Susan Bauer-Wu, Author of Leaves Falling Gently
President, Mind & Life Institute

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“Hob is one helluva writer and Holy Moli is holy-crap good. Lyrical, uplifting, heart-breaking, sweet and a whole lot else.”

Scott Weidensaul, Pulitzer Prize finalist for Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere With Migratory Birds

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“Hob Osterlund is a witness to beauty. Her words ground that sacred witnessing on the page with joyous revelations, not without sorrow. The full range of emotion is hers. I look forward to her ongoing relationship of wonder with the albatross.”

Terry Tempest Williams, Author of Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

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“The albatross is a bird of superlatives, and Hob Osterlund is a superlative writer extraordinarily devoted to her magnificent subject. She’s adept at capturing the bird’s divine grace and endearing awkwardness, relaying the drama and humor of its days, and inspiring her readers to protect this legendary wanderer. You’ll love Holy Moli!”

Sy Montgomery, Author of Birdology

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“I love Hob’s writing. Her stories are delightful, entertaining and intimate. Because of her rare ability to take us inside the lives of these amazing birds, the albatross may fly onto center stage among charismatic animals, just as penguins did a few years ago.”

Stacey O’Brien, Author of New York Times bestseller Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
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