A Soaring Memoir From The Bestselling Birdwatcher Who Followed His Own Path

Eric Dempsey is mad about birds. In fact, they have changed his whole life.

For him, the death of a close friend crystallised something in his mind: life is too short not to spend it doing something you love. Aged 40 and gainfully employed in a secure, pensionable job, he threw it all away to follow his passion for birdwatching and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.

In his remarkable memoir he recalls innocent childhood days in Dublin spent looking to the sky, instructing his parents not to die in autumn (it’s the best time for birdwatching) and mad-cap adventures that would see him getting caught in army fire and cheating death on ‘the roof of the world’ in Tibet – all in pursuit of rare birds.

Some people spend all their life dreaming of following their passion. Eric Dempsey’s memoir reveals a life all the more rewarding for doing so.

Praise for Don’t Die in Autumn:

‘Eric Dempsey took a gamble on nature and won a great outdoor life in Ireland - a joyously honest chronicle of birding.’
Michael Viney, The Irish Times

’A memoir written with honesty and simplicity that gives a fascinating insight into the world of extreme birding, a world with a jargon all of its own where enthusiasm shades into obsession. Eric’s passion for nature, and the wonder and joy it evokes in him, shine out from every page. An inspirational story.’

Dick Warner, Writer, Broadcaster and Environmentalist

Don’t Die in Autumn will be published by Gill Books on Friday, 21st August 2015, priced at €16.99.

For further information, please contact Emma Lynam, Publicity Executive 01 500 9506, elynam@gill.ie.