Book excerpt: This fourth volume of the On a Wing and a Prayer series, like the other three books, is carefully hemmed by that beloved admonition that saves us from blind imaginings; whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and absolutely full of praise! Before you begin reading, I challenge you to consider my new hypothesis: “For those who can hear it, there is healing in the song of a bird.”