During the course of the war in Iraq, many veterans have become increasingly disillusioned, and increasingly vocal. Many began seeing the war as damaging for the country, and especially for the men and women fighting overseas. In My River Home, Marcus Eriksen, a veteran of the Gulf War, charts his personal shift from proud Marine to self-destructive veteran to engaged activist protesting the injustices of the Iraq War with Veterans for Peace. Eriksen made sense of this transition only after a fascinating adventure traveling through the heart of America, down the entire length of the great Mississippi River on a homemade raft.
“This character-driven tale flows effortlessly with the author’s descriptive prose painting every emotional scene with care. Her skill at peeling away the layers of and revealing the raw pain in this incredibly complicated family is exemplary and extremely important to the narrative….Fans of Karen White, Kristin Hannah, Barbara Delinsky, and fantastic women’s fiction will have difficulty putting down this novel.” — Library Journal (starred review) "Beautiful, heart-rending, life-affirming." — Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You Go and After the End “No one does dark family secrets like Hannah Richell . . . Beguiling, beautifully written and richly evocative, The River Home will sweep you away.” — Veronica Henry, author of How to Find Love in a Bookshop "Beautifully written, with powerful messages of hope and redemption woven through the sadness of the story. Very moving, very immersive. I loved it!" — Katherine Webb, author of The Legacy “A tender portrait of a perfectly imperfect family; wise, big-hearted, and beautifully written.” — Emylia Hall, author of The Book of Summers “Beautiful and gripping.” — Libby Page, author of The Lido “A brimming glassful of apple-scented summer escapism.” — Kirkus Reviews “Stunning . . . Amazing characters, beautiful setting, and utterly heart-breaking.” — Katherine Slee, author of The Book of Second Chances “Heartwrenching and beautifully written.” — Susan Elliot Wright, author of The Secrets We Left Behind Praise for The Peacock Summer: "A juicy mix of secrets and betrayals make The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell a perfect holiday read.” — Good Housekeeping (UK) “This moving novel of family and missed opportunity will appeal to fans of Barbara Kingsolver.” — Booklist “The prose is lush and full-blooming, the pacing taut, and the setting brilliant with light and color as the suspense builds, pushing each woman to her breaking point. . . . Lillian and Maggie are rich and complex characters, struggling to embrace passion and yet fulfill their duty, and their alternating stories balance well against one another, imparting lessons on life, love, family, obligation, and—most of all—the enduring power and beauty of art. An immensely satisfying read.” — Historical Novel Society “Even more beguiling than her previous books. Stuffed full of family secrets, it’s a tale of longing and dappled sunlight and the shimmering heat of lust. Exquisite, glamorous and breath-holdingly plotted.” — Veronica Henry “Poignant, romantic and beautifully written, I was completely captivated by this dual narrative story about forbidden love. Hannah Richell is a gifted storyteller; The Peacock Summer a wonderfully immersive book. Absolutely gorgeous.” — Kate Riordan
“Beautiful. ... A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs through It, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River.” —Washington Post A "poetic" and "captivating" (Publishers Weekly) memoir about the power of place to shape generations, Home Waters is John N. Maclean's remarkable chronicle of his family's century-long love affair with Montana's majestic Blackfoot River, the setting for his father's classic novella, A River Runs through It. Maclean returns annually to the simple family cabin that his grandfather built by hand, still in search of the trout of a lifetime. When he hooks it at last, decades of longing promise to be fulfilled, inspiring John, reporter and author, to finally write the story he was born to tell. A book that will resonate with everyone who feels deeply rooted to a landscape, Home Waters is a portrait of a family who claimed a river, from one generation to the next, of how this family came of age in the 20th century and later as they scattered across the country, faced tragedy and success, yet were always drawn back to the waters that bound them together. Here are the true stories behind the beloved characters fictionalized in A River Runs through It, including the Reverend Maclean, the patriarch who introduced the family to fishing; Norman, who balanced a life divided between literature and the tug of the rugged West; and tragic yet luminous Paul (played by Brad Pitt in Robert Redford’s film adaptation), whose mysterious death has haunted the family and led John to investigate his uncle’s murder and reveal new details in these pages. A universal story about nature, family, and the art of fly fishing, Maclean’s memoir beautifully captures the inextricable ways our personal histories are linked to the places we come from—our home waters. Featuring twelve wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates and a map of the Blackfoot River region.
After journalist Jessica DuLong was laid off from her dot-com job, her life took an unexpected turn. A volunteer day aboard an antique fireboat, the John J. Harvey, led to a job in the engine room, where she found a taste of home she hadn’t realized she was missing. Working with the boat’s finely crafted machinery, on the waters of the storied Hudson, made her wonder what America is losing in our shift away from hands-on work. Her questions crystallized after she and her crew served at Ground Zero, where fireboats provided the only water available to fight blazes. Vivid and immediate, My River Chronicles is a journey with an extraordinary guide—a mechanic’s daughter and Stanford graduate who bridges blue-collar and white-collar worlds, turning a phrase as deftly as she does a wrench. As she searches for the meaning of work in America, DuLong shares her own experiences of learning to navigate a traditionally male world, masterfully interweaving unforgettable present-day characters and events with four centuries of Hudson River history. A celebration of craftsmanship, My River Chronicles is a deeply personal story of a unique woman’s discovery of her own roots—and America’s—that raises important questions about our nation’s future.
Frogs, fish, a turtle, and other creatures who live in or around a river state their need for the river, making a plea for protecting this natural resource.
Shantyboat is the story of a leisurely journey down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. For most people such a journey is the stuff that dreams are made of, but for Harlan and Anna Hubbard, it became a cherished reality. In their small river craft, the Hubbards became one with the flowing river and its changing weathers. This book mirrors a life that is simple and independent, strenuous at times, but joyous, with leisure for painting and music, for observation and contemplation.
The last school bell has rung and it’s finally HOME TIME! Even though they’re twins, Lilly and David don’t agree on much… except that the last summer before high school is the perfect time for relaxing with friends. But their plans for sleepovers, fantasy games, and romance are thrown out the window when the whole gang falls into a river and wakes up in a village of fantastic creatures.
Stella Bowles was a Grade 6 Nova Scotia student when she turned environmental activist to campaign against sewage pipes draining straight into the LaHave River. This is the inspirational first person account of Stella's Grade 6 science fair project which caught the eyes of the media, the public and government leaders propelling her into the limelight. Stella details her two and a half year fight to clean up the river, winning numerous awards for her environmental activism along the way. She succeeds in shaming three levels of government and rallying supporters into funding a $15.7 million cleanup. Today, she continues to campaign for cleaner water and demonstrates to other children how to test water quality in their own back yards, and how to take action if they find their water is polluted too. Stella's story will motivate readers to engage in local environmental activism. She demonstrates that doing what's right has no age barriers.
A timeless book about a river and its people, so well and lovingly written that its interwoven fact and legend has that special quality of good storytelling. The now famous Buffalo River is one of the last free-flowing rivers in America. The book will appeal to all who are drawn by the magic of the river - the nature lover, canoeist and backpacker - and certainly to those with an historical interest in the region.
This is the story of Rutledge's return after 44 years to Hampton Plantation, his boyhood home. Built in 1730 the stately mansion and its extensive grounds and woodlands are now one of South Carolina's state parks, located 40 miles northeast of Charleston. The restoration of the house, and reminiscences of Rutledge's early years there captures the true spirit of Hampton.
