Hunting and inner healing

'Hunting and inner healing' is a Swedish novel set in Malta about a self-centred 39-year-old on the brink of a breakdown who comes to Malta to volunteer with Birdlife. Author Eva Sanner explains:

..In Malta Lars meets two other Swedes - an older lady, Elizabeth, and Michael, a volunteer with BirdLife Malta. The two characters are very important for Lars's journey to inner peace, Ms Sanner explains. "Elizabeth becomes his coach and mentor, even though at first Lars is angry at her, thinking that she asks too many questions." But the turning point comes when Lars, while in the car with Michael, comes across a hunter who stops his car suddenly, gets out and shoots down a bird.

"Michael jumps out and starts arguing with the hunters. As Lars looks on, he mulls the unfairness of the bird's killing and decides to stay on in Malta, also becoming a BirdLife volunteer. At first he is office-bound, but soon starts going on bird-watching expeditions. And Lars realises he feels like the birds - tired and lost, trying to find himself amidst confusion.

"But he finds a new direction and takes charge of his life, changing himself in the process." Just as the dead bird is instrumental in Lars's decision to stay in Malta, it was an injured bird which triggered Ms Sanner's fascination with the island. "I was on holiday here some eight years ago and one day found an injured bird in my hotel room balcony. At the time I could not understand what had happened." But after some research into the local hunting culture, she decided to put pen to paper.

Although the book is the mother-of-two's first work of fiction, she feels that much of it delves into he psychological healing process. She points out that many of her clients are people like Lars, who start questioning their life and feel the need to find themselves...