Great Read on Life in Haines, Alaska

My daughter just returned home after a 6-week surgery rotation at the Anchorage Native Medical Center. Because she knows her mom (me) has Trip to Inner Alaska as #1 on my Bucket List and she knows I write and read memoirs, she brought me Heather Lende’s If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name. Heather writes obituaries and other articles for the Chilkat Valley News. Her detailed obituaries delve into the life of each person, sometimes taking up the entire front page, and touching on the mystery of both life and death. Heather describes Alaska through the people of this gorgeous yet rugged land giving Haines, Alaska, a flair of romance, intrigue and mystery. She has a way of tugging at heartstrings to evoke tears of joy and those of loss. I realize this book is the first of three; I look forward to reading her other two, Find the Good and Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs. I highly recommend If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name as a charming, yet thought-provoking read.