Unpublished Chapters

    Caged Bird is a long book. It took more than 300,000 words accurately tell the story of Tom Bird and his incarceration. Actually, it took more than that.

    During 2003, a new publisher asked the author to remove some 100,000 words from the original copy.  Some of those passages removed are now included here on the website.

     In order to make the original book a little less hefty, approximately 50,000 words were removed from the final draft. Most of these were in chapters that added great texture to the story, but did not necessarily help to clarify his predicament. Yet, they are worth reading.

     This special section of the website is just so you can read these chapters. Here you will find:

     Tom Bird's 1988 Wedding

     A Visit Inside Lansing Correctional Facility

     The Custody Fight for the Bird Children (author's favorite)

     Rocky Ford Bridge at Night

     Tape Recorded Conversation Between Darrel Carter and Tom Bird, that was supposed to prove Tom's involvement in serious crimes

     Feel free to read them online, or print them for a later reading. I hope you find them as interesting as I did in writing them.

Dave Racer