We all do what we must to survive.
And in Alexandra Beaumont’s folkloric / historical fantasy novel Dissonance Of Bird Song (paperback, Kindle), what the people must do is inhale an enchanted mist from the lungs of birds.
(You can insert your own Affordable Care Act joke here.)
In the following email interview, Beaumont discusses what inspired and influenced this story, including why the mist comes from birds as opposed to some other musically-inclined animal.