Accessibility links
Lessons On Isolation From A Snail With Writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey : Short Wave Bedridden with illness, Maine writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey found an unlikely companion — a solitary snail a friend brought her from the woods. Elisabeth spent the following year observing the creature and it was the inspiration for her memoir, "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating."

Short Wave

Lessons In Being Alone, From A Woodland Snail

Lessons In Being Alone, From A Woodland Snail

Listen · 13:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/822731074/1200396989" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Enlarge this image

A solitary snail. Andrew Young/Elisabeth Tova Bailey hide caption

toggle caption
Andrew Young/Elisabeth Tova Bailey

A solitary snail.

Andrew Young/Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Many people are staying home these days, and Elisabeth Tova Bailey is no stranger to that experience.

For years, she was bedridden from a post-infectious autoimmune disorder. Unable to get out of bed or sit up, a visiting friend brought her a snail. And with the snail's entry into her life, she found companionship and solace. Elisabeth spent the following year observing the snail and it was the inspiration for her memoir, "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating."

Bailey talks to Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong about the joys of snails and what lessons we can take from one of the slowest creatures on earth.

Follow Emily on Twitter @emilykwong1234. Reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

Buy Featured Book

Title
Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Author
Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?

This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Viet Le and fact-checked by Emily Vaughn.