Coming October 2026
"What I loved most is how many genres it brought together and how it refuses to be put in just one box. It is memoir and journalism and research and societal non-fiction and all of that in the best ways."
- Lee, early reader (New York, USA)
"Such a beautiful memoir. I can relate on so many levels…. I wonder, is our most important task as mothers to nurture our children and restore a healthy environment for them? What if the hummingbirds are calling us to help awaken the world to become nurturing towards life again?"
- Johanna, early reader (Vienna, Austria)
When Abigail Somma’s mother died, a hummingbird appeared at the funeral and hovered above the coffin. It was the beginning of a series of mysterious signs and improbable coincidences she came to interpret as guideposts. They led her through grief, a surprise twin pregnancy, secret debt, an unexpected new life in Europe – and deep into how early childhood shapes the next generation.
Drawing on neuroscience, attachment research and her experience raising children in two very different socioeconomic systems, the United States and Austria, Somma makes the case that building a secure future begins in the nursery, one developing brain at a time.
Part memoir, part call to action, this book opens with grief and motherhood but grows into a thesis: the world we create depends upon the nervous systems we protect.