From ELISABETH TOVA BAILEY’S THE SOUND of a WILD SNAIL EATING
If learning from nature is not only possible, but also therapeutic, then the snail is one of the most excellent guides.
CONTENT WARNING: The book and the present article centre around chronic illness, and the sentiments and struggles that come with.
April showers bring May flowers . . . and also, snails! Often overlooked in our day to day lives, and not often included in forestcore aesthetics, snails embody lush greens and dewy earth like no other animal. Despite having so many natural predators, their aura of serenity is mostly unmatched as they make their slow way through rich soil and sturdy bark, dry leaves and abundant mushrooms, blackened patches of cool shadows and honeyed streaks of warm sunrays. Quiet as they may be, if you listen attentively, you can hear the crunches as they chew . . . and it’ll bring a calm smile to your lips.
Elisabeth Tova Bailey has experienced the marvels of knowing a snail. Her part-memoir The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating details her personal observations, quotes from poets and XIXth century naturalists, provides extensive information on snails, and above all, reflects on chronic illness with a unique sensibility.
The book begins in a scenic Swiss town dealing with a flu outbreak. Naturally, Bailey assumes she must be suffering from a heavy case of flu, but as she makes back to her home in the U.S. it becomes clear it’s something much more severe. Healing is certainly not linear for Bailey. Unexpected relapses render her bedridden – that’s when she encounters her snail, who accompanies her through a year of healing.
It takes 15 years to figure out it was tick-borne encephalitis that kicked off a devastating series of permanent problems going as far as destroying her mitochondria.
“The pathogen I contracted was, in its own way, an author; it rewrote the instructions followed within every cell in my body, and in doing so, it rewrote my life, making off with nearly all my plans for the future,” writes Bailey.
Losing her mobility means losing her independence, losing her independence means losing her agency. She ends up having to move to a sterile, white studio apartment to receive palliative care. From the island of her bed, all of the world is out reach.
“There is a certain depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation,” she remarks. “Illness isolates; the isolated become invisible; the invisible become forgotten.”
“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties.” For Bailey, “[t]ime unused and only endured still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs, no memory, no trace at all.”
She only rediscovers a meaning to her existence when she’s gifted a pot of violets, and a single woodland snail. With nothing but time on her hands, she begins watching the snail. It doesn’t take long for her to be endeared by her new companion. Bailey builds a beautiful terrarium with the help of her caretaker, and devotes the slow passage of time to attentively observing the habits of the snail. In the animal’s resolve and resilience, she finds strength for herself.
Bailey is a wonderful nature observer, boasting the same enthusiasm of the XIXth century naturalists, as she draws similarities and differences between herself and the snail. Her thoughts and conclusions are at the same time raw and therapeutic, sure to move the reader in various waves of emotion. It comes easy to find solace in how Bailey herself found meaning and happiness through her chronic illness.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating ponders about “the human condition” and highlights the importance of animal friendship to heal, as well as turning to nature to position ourselves within this vast universe. We majoritarily live in a manmade world, in our buildings that have overtaken nature, going through our unnatural routines. As we remove ourselves from nature more and more, we tend to forget our place within. Bailey’s experience of healing through the silent help of an unlikely mollusc companion reveals the restorative qualities of a connection with, and an understanding of, nature.
The snail is a resourceful teacher. Tougher than they appear, snails can endure long periods of harsh conditions; but at the same time, they’re adaptable to new surroundings. Their determination to survive proves to be a splendid motivation to thrive. In fact, playing the cards they were dealt is what has kept them alive and prospering as a species through the chains of change and evolution.
Perhaps the wisdom of the snail, Bailey comes to realise, lies in moving at one’s own pace.
Bensu
@versmonesprit
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