This book made me realize that birds are boring and I have zero interest in reading another book that has anything to do with birds.

I received this book through the publisher. To be honest, it's not something I would have typically picked up, but because it centered around a birder, it came my way.

I think I was correct in my assessment that this wasn't something I'd necessarily enjoy. Yes, the main character is a birder and that part of his life does serve to move the story forward, but at the same time, it's not a main focus, per se. He is also not the most relateable nor likeable character. That's not usually a requirement for a good book but that turned me off a bit in this case. He's also a drug addict who's meandering through life, and not the best (understatement) husband or father — he just doesn't have any redeeming qualities.

Things sort of come to a head towards the end of the book as he attempts to chase a super rare (likely extinct) bird and faces some of his past. To me, there was still no redemption here and I finished this just because I had to for the review.

I know many other folks enjoyed this book so it might work for you, but I personally wasn't a fan.

Thanks Touchstone and netgalley for this ARC,

This novel has so many different ways people will relate to it/love it/hate it. But they won't be able to not talk about it.

I liked this book a lot and the authors style of writing. It is a book about family, addiction, and birding. The main character Adrian, is an anesthesiologist, who loves his family, who is a big time birder trying to find one elusive bird for his list, but who also has a problem with pills.
The story goes between his different relationships, both past and present, his childhood and present day families and how he tries to cope with not only that but with situations that arise to challenge him.
To me it was an interesting mix of scenarios, which made me, want to keep reading.
I will be very interested in this authors next book.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Touchstone for the ARC of this book.

This is a lovely book. Chris White writes about obsession and addiction as two sides of a poisonous coin. Adrian’s loneliness is almost another character in the book, haunting him even as he works, goes home to his family, and birds with his friends. The swamp reconciliation scene is stunning and memorable.

Anesthesiologist Adrian Mandrick is on a downward spiral. He is addicted to prescription drugs, his marriage is crumbling, and his estranged mother is trying to get in contact with him. His sole comfort in life is his “life list,” all of the species of birds he has seen. He has the third longest list in the country with 863. When the man with the second longest list dies Adrian sees an opportunity to heal himself and move up on the list. He goes on an expedition to find not only the rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker, but also himself.
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I could tell while reading this book that I was not the intended audience for it. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and just found Adrian annoying and wanted to shake him because of his ignorance. I believe there is a correct audience that would enjoy this book but a young twenty-something woman is definitely not it. The writing was great, but I strongly disliked the story.
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Thank you to Touchstone and and Chris White for providing me a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Life List of Adrian Mandrick will be released on April 17th.

A story about pain, loss, bitterness, and addiction. Adrian's life is falling apart. He is addicted to pain killers and his home life has imploded. Yet through all of that, Adrian remains a stead fast birder. In the depths of his addiction, he gets a message on the bird watching website that an IVORY BILLED woodpecker (the holy grail of birders) was just sighted. Adrian drops everything (well his life has already imploded, he doesn't have much to drop) and heads out to find the woodpecker.
The writing was good, yet at the end, I found that it drug along. The long list of native American tribes was unnecessary. Overall a good book, but needed more substance.

This was a marvelous book! Dr. Adrian Mandrick loves his family but frequently leaves them to pursue his avid bird-watching obsession. He is in competition to be the top birders in the country, perhaps in the world. But birding also stimulates Mandrick's memories of his childhood, come of which are quite troubling. Mandrick begins taking opiates and Xanax to stifle his feelings of discomfort. Needless to say, Mandrick's drug use leads to disastrous results in his family life. In spite of his troubles, Mandrick feels compel to leave town abruptly to pursue the ghost bird, the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that is featured prominently in a happy childhood memories. Mandrick is a fabulous protagonist - he is flawed but in ways that many people can relate to. And, although, I am not a birder, it did inspire me to a least give it a try. Just a beautiful nbook and I look forward to white's future books.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this one but woah, it was a pleasant surprise to read something so unexpected.

Adrian is a character that you don't immediately like or connect with but once it happens, there is no going back. There are a lot of subtle moments that don't seem to make an impact until you reach the end when it all somehow comes together and makes sense.

This book started out with an interesting premise: deeply damaged man tries to live his life as normally as possible as an anesthesiologist and competitive birder. He has overcome a prescription drug habit (or so we believe). Quickly his obsession breaks him down and he finds himself losing his family and perhaps his sanity. But the book hinges on a ridiculous twist that required a far greater suspension of disbelief than I am capable of, and the ending is weirdly sunny—the entire final third of the book felt forced and shoddy.