“Less known to Oregon hikers, the deep woods of the Tillamook State Forest are a mystery no longer. Close to Portland, but uncrowded and easy to access, these 50 hikes lead to explorations of meadows, creeks, swimming holes, and peaks in an iconic Oregon ecosystem, the temperate rainforest.” —Laura O. Foster, author of Columbia Gorge Getaways: 12 Weekend Adventures from Towns to Trails
In his candid and emotional memoir, Lane Igoudin shows the human side of public adoption as he and his partner Jonathan seek to adopt their foster daughters from the Los Angeles County child welfare system. Desperately wanting to be fathers, they enter into a complicated legal process that soon becomes a tangle of drama-filled birth parent visits and children’s court hearings. Lane and Jon spend years not knowing whether they will be able to officially adopt the girls, or if the county will reunite the sisters with their birth mother, Jenna, a teenager in the state’s custody herself.
The Pacific Poetry Project’s first volume, Alive at the Center, aims to capture the thriving poetic atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. It concentrates on the three major cities that define it—Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver B.C. This anthology, compiled and edited by an outstanding poet from each city, is a cultural conversation among the unique urban communities whose perspectives share more than just a common landscape. Alive at the Center features distinctive, contemporary poets who speak to the individual spirits of these Pacific Northwest cities.
Born Baby Girl Black Feather, Leah Altman was removed from her tribal community through placement by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), to be adopted and raised by a family in Portland, Oregon. At twenty-one, she journeys across the West twice to rediscover her roots—to her birth father’s Lakota family in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and to her mother’s Persian relatives in Denver, Colorado.
As an adoptee, Leah felt the hole in her heart where her cekpa was missing. Lacking this tradition so essential to Lakota culture manifested in a troubled youth of reckless decisions, substance abuse, and struggling to fit in at school after school. A child without a cekpa is left unanchored, and without hers, Leah was at a loss in life. In an intimate portrayal of self-discovery, Leah’s memoir tells a painstaking construction of her search for identity, written to ensure her own children grow up with an understanding of their roots.
In this collection of personal essays dedicated to her two daughters, Altman masterfully weaves together her own literary cekpa in a coming-of-age story about transracial adoption, tribal enrollment, motherhood, and what it truly means to be connected to one’s culture, homeland, and family.
Badriya has a debt to pay. The beautiful oasis city of Aran lies at the center of the Lost, a desert haunted by ghosts, demons, and Witches of the Lost who prey on unwary souls. Badriya and her mother, having been exiled from their home on the coast, flee to the desert city for a new start. But after losing her mother to the desert—and the King and Queen of Aran dying swiftly after—Badriya is forced to live in the dark shadow of the new Queen, Solena.
Who were the pioneers of the American West? Some of them we already know: European Americans who traveled across North America on horseback, in covered wagons or on foot, or sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Lesser known are the immigrants who, by the 1850s, began sailing east from Southern China, primarily from the Guangdong Province. They arrived in the western American port towns in California, Oregon, and Washington. These Chinese immigrants, fleeing the hardships of their homeland, sought the same prosperity as all immigrants to America. While some Chinese immigrants found riches in Oregon’s high deserts, gold-mined mountains, coastal fisheries, and bustling Portland metropolis, many faced extreme racism, legal discrimination, and exploitation.
One retired detective. One frightened boy. One daring librarian. The case that will unravel everything. A tense, emotional mystery perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and Liz Moore.
He usually had something to go on: a body, a name, a weapon . . . What did he have now?
Retired detective Ster McCaffrey has lived in isolation since the death of his beloved wife. Recently disabled from a traumatic brain injury, his quiet life is interrupted when he wakes in the dead of night to find a child sobbing on his doorstep—leaving him with more questions than answers.
After learning that the boy and his missing mother are unhoused with no official investigation underway, Ster decides to solve the mystery himself. To do so, he’ll need to interview a community whose voice is rarely heard: the houseless of Portland, Oregon. Diving deeper into their tight-knit circle, Ster realizes trust is hard-won, and answers even more so. The further he goes, the more difficult it is to tell where the case ends, and his past begins.
With threats to his home, new evidence found in the river, and signs pointing to murder—friends and enemies are closer than Ster realizes. Only one thing is clear: the boy is in grave danger.
When Roger Henneous first dons his keeper uniform and sets foot in the Oregon Zoo, he doesn’t know what to expect. Over Roger’s thirty-year career, he discovers the joys, pains, and dangers of life in a zoo, all the while maintaining an unwavering devotion to Belle, Packy, and the rest of the Asian elephants he cares for. Roger faces many risks—but his willingness to learn the elephants’ language earns him a rare level of trust among the herd, reminding us how much we can achieve when we choose to listen.
Seattle, Washington, 2019. Attorney and single mom Laura Holban is an immigrant herself, guiding clients through a Kafkaesque system of ever-changing rules, where overworked judges make life-shattering decisions in minutes. Laura’s newest client is Emilio Ramirez, who was arrested in front of his sons at their high school and thrown in detention.
Being a Sparrow child has never been simple. Olivia, Sherman and Morgan have their faults, and they cope with their tumultuous childhood in their own unstable ways—Olivia with her excessive lifestyle, Morgan cycling through risky behaviors, and Sherman dabbling in morally-precarious business practices. They have kept their family from completely crumbling until now, but the cracks in their relationship are about to be unearthed. As their shaky foundations collide, the earthquake levels their city.
Isaac knew Heritage Camp would be different this year: he was different. While he had accepted who he was, he wasn’t sure how his peers would feel. What he didn’t expect was having to investigate the sudden death of his camp counselor.
Claire Stanfield became a lawyer to make her father proud, but after a troubling case leaves her shaken, she escapes to Alaska and immerses herself in the world of dog sledding. Dillon Cord became a police officer to serve his community, but he moves to Nome in the wake of a life-altering incident. For both, the Iditarod—the toughest sled dog race in the world—offers a chance for forgiveness, redemption, and healing.
Fifteen-year-old Laurel Summers couldn’t tell you the last words she spoke to her mother and siblings if her life depended on it. But she will never forget the image of her mother’s mangled green car on the freeway, shattering the boring world Laurel had been so desperate to escape. Now she can’t stop seeing the ghosts of her family members, which haunt her with memories of how life used to be back when her biggest problem was the kiss she shared with her best friend Hanna.
Jamie Santiago is just an ordinary high school teenager—he has a huge crush on a girl from school, he watches a ton of sitcoms, and he is constantly trying to keep his dad from feeding egg rolls to his white friends. Not to mention he also aspires to be the next Tinikling folk dance master. Okay, maybe he’s not so ordinary.
Memories Flow in Our Veins: Forty Years of Women’s Writing from CALYX is an elegant literary history of feminist nonprofit CALYX Press, revealed through a collection of poetry and prose from their rich archive of women’s literature. Featuring all-new introductory content by the CALYX Editorial Collective and vibrant contributions by thirty of their most renowned authors, this anthology explores the evolving realities and aspirations of women across cultures, generations, and perspectives. We follow young girls as they discover their womanhood, behold wives and mothers pushing beyond the boxes society has put them in, and witness as aging women reckon with the dynamic effects of time. This anthology pays tribute to CALYX Press, their contributions to literature, and their commitment to the future of women writers.
This collection of 150 personal narratives from everyday Oregonians explores the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the people who live in this unique state. Oregon Stories shows why people cherish this state and why Oregonians strive to keep Oregon unique and beautiful while celebrating its rich history and diverse opportunities. Drawn from the Oregon 150 Commission’s Oregon Stories project—in which a variety of citizens submitted personal stories that will resonate with any Oregon resident—this book collects the stories and histories of the people that make this place home. The subject of these stories varies widely—some authors tell detailed family histories, while others describe exciting travels throughout Oregon’s beautiful landscape. This book features local contributors who reside in different communities all over the state, resulting in a publication truly representative of Oregonians as a whole.
