The Sound of Feathers: Attentive Living in a World Beyond Ourselves
by Kathryn Gillespie, PhD
From the rustle of a crow’s wings to the cool touch of moss on a stone wall, to the quiet determination of a worm crossing a sidewalk, The Sound of Feathers invites readers to notice the small wonders of life all around them. These fleeting details hold surprising truths about humanity’s connection to nature, the complex relationships of care and harm in which we are entangled, our responsibilities to other species, and what it means to be fully present in the world. Through vivid storytelling and deeply personal reflections, Kathryn Gillespie invites us to slow down, pay attention, and think differently about our everyday lives so that we might imagine shared futures of flourishing. She urges us to confront the forces that separate us from the natural world and find more compassionate ways of living in harmony with it. Gillespie reminds us that the quiet, often overlooked moments in life are where the most profound insights and connections begin.
Special thanks to Adele Renault for the use of her artwork on the cover.
The Sound of Feathers will be available for preorder soon with Duke University Press.
PRAISE FOR THE SOUND OF FEATHERS
“Through deeply moving storytelling, The Sound of Feathers makes it clear that paying careful attention to, and developing deep respect for, the magnificence around us will make the world a better place—a unified community—for all to enjoy—human and nonhuman alike. It is a wonderful, thought-provoking, and powerful work of art that will change heads and hearts, rewild us, and save the world for future generations. A must read for a broad audience.” – Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy and Why They Matter
“The Sound of Feathers will touch, educate, and transform a wide audience. Vibrating with a love that encompasses readers themselves, this strong, powerful, and important book is a joy to read.” – Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegan Critical Theory
Kathryn Gillespie, PhD is a writer, multispecies ethnographer, and feminist geographer. She is currently Associate Director for the Center for Food Systems Transformations at the University of San Diego. Her research and teaching interests focus on: ethnography and qualitative methods; feminist and multi-species theory and methods; food and agriculture; political economy; critical animal studies; and human-environment relations. Her forthcoming book, The Sound of Feathers: Practicing Attentiveness in Multispecies Worlds, will be released in February 2026 with Duke University Press. She is also the author of The Cow with Ear Tag #1389 [University of Chicago Press, 2018]. She has published in numerous scholarly journals and has co-edited three books: Vulnerable Witness: The Politics of Grief in the Field [University of California Press, 2018, co-edited with Patricia J. Lopez]; Critical Animal Geographies: Politics, Intersections and Hierarchies in a Multispecies World [Routledge, 2015, co-edited with Rosemary-Claire Collard]; and Economies of Death: Economic Logics of Killable Life and Grievable Death [Routledge, 2015, co-edited with Patricia J. Lopez]. Gillespie was formerly a Postdoctoral Scholar in Applied Environment and Sustainability Studies Online Masters Program at the University of Kentucky, an Animal Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at Wesleyan University (2016-2018), and a lecturer at the University of Washington. She has volunteered with Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (a Puget Sound, WA-based prison education organization), Food Empowerment Project (a food justice organization in Cotati, CA), and Pigs Peace Sanctuary (a sanctuary for pigs in Stanwood, WA).
Get in touch: contact.kgillespie@gmail.com
Kathryn is also a senior qualitative market researcher, with 15 years of combined market and academic qual research experience. She designs and owns new digital qual methodologies at the interface of technology and human insights; manages qual market/consumer insights research team in fast-paced client-focused startup; delivers results to clients in rapid-cycle qual studies, including brief, design, analysis, interpretation of data, presentation of research, and recommendations for strategic direction; manages global client projects from end-to-end, seeing projects through from brief to output delivery; collaborates with marketing agencies as well as end-client brands on delivery of research to inform brand positioning, brand tracking, competitive set, consumer journeys, personas & segmentation, and concept & creative testing; design ethics in research standards & DEI frameworks; creates content for marketing purposes and public-facing communications. She has category expertise in FMCG/CPG, Health & Wellness, Tech, and Media.