Hummingbird: Messages from My Ancestors (Unabridged‪)‬

Hummingbird is a spiritual memoir about the connection between three generations of women—the author, her mother and maternal grandmother, who was her primary caretaker until she took her life when the author was ten. Her wisdoms taught the author how to exist in the world. For more than five decades she carried these wisdoms with her as an author, nurse, research psychologist, teacher, cancer survivor, mother and grandmother. Her grandmother taught her how to follow her intuition and listen to her heart. The book also creates a bridge between her grandmother as a cholera pandemic survivor and the author’s experience with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Raab has a photo of her grandmother on her desk. When she stares into her eyes, she’s given clear messages. The deepest connection with her grandmother materialized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her magic emerged via hummingbird visitations outside her writing studio. Woven into the narrative of their relationship is Raab’s journey and life challenges: being raised by a narcissistic mother, loss of loved ones, meeting her soulmate, raising three becoming a grandmother, and passing on her legacy. She illustrates how her grandmother’s spirit gave her comfort and strength.

Diana Raab's new memoir explores the depths of love and loss across three generations of women. The book includes six decades of stories and universal truths garnered in the three generations of women. It also includes elements of female relationships, the power of empathy, tapping into deeper knowing, as well as nurturing emotional wellness, fostering gratitude, interconnectedness, and the importance of storytelling.

Hummingbird touches on how we can continue to connect with our ancestors. The book’s themes are blended into the magic of the circle of life, as Raab makes peace with the hummingbird which represents the traumas, wisdoms, love and survival of three generations of women.