Fizzing with wit and style and featuring original illustrations by the author, Something for the Birds is a lively, humorous and tragic memoir that traces the roots of a distinguished painter and her crucial role in New Zealand's feminist movement. Jacqueline Fahey moves from childhood in provincial Timaru and back to her Irish ancestors. She describes her bohemian life as a student and her marriage to celebrated psychiatrist Fraser Macdonald. These stories highlight the evolution of culture and the visual arts in New Zealand while they brilliantly depict her courageous and flamboyant trek through life. Fahey's commentary on the social and cultural trappings of New Zealand life is lively, amusing, sad and utterly readable.