New York Times bestseller Helen Macdonald led a discussion of her book, “H is for Hawk,” Saturday at the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse.

Macdonald discussed her book overall, her experiences as a writer and her thoughts on life and grief.

Her book has won awards including the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize and the Costa Book Award.

Her status as a New York Times Bestselling author has given her exposure to former President Barack Obama, who added her book to his summer reading list.

Her book is even being transformed into a movie by “Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey.

“She’s the most charismatic person I’ve ever met, and her writing is so beautiful,” Megan Lewis, a sophomore theater major, said about Macdonald.

Macdonald said she’s been writing her whole life, but she didn’t believe she was going to make a career out of writing.

“I didn’t expect mine to be a popular book,” Macdonald said, “but it has been a bestseller, and that’s been a source of both joy and complete bewilderment to me.”

Macdonald also talked about life plans, and her lack of one.

“I’m a very impulsive person,” Macdonald said, “and I’ve always been impressed and a bit nervous of the kind of people who have their career mapped out in their heads by the time they leave school. I’m about as far from that as you can imagine.”

Macdonald said her favorite part of the job is when writing is going well.

“It’s been thrilling and humbling to meet readers, but deep down the favorite thing about this job is that moment when the writing is going well,” Macdonald said. “Particularly after a few days where I’ve been stuck, and suddenly the words are coming and you can, if you’re lucky, reach a kind of flow state where everything feels possible.”

Macdonald mentioned the difficulty of the writing process in her discussion, but made clear that she needed to tell the story of coping with the loss of her father by training a fierce bird of prey. Macdonald also gave some advice to aspiring writers.

“First of all, read everything,” Macdonald said. “Read as much as you can. Read as many different kinds of writing as you can … Second, be brave. Writing is scary. It’s hard to feel, sometimes, that you have the right to own your own voice, to put it out into the world and ask people to listen. You do. Don’t let fear stop your voice.”

Macdonald’s thoughts on grief, growth and life itself can all be found in her bestseller “H is for Hawk.” The discussion she led at Marshall is one of many in her tour currently traveling nationwide across America.

Alexia Lilly can be contacted at [email protected].