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"Surviving
The Island of Grace"
A Memoir of Alaska
”Publisher’s
Weekly “ . . . Readers with pioneer envy will get
vicarious thrills from this high-energy memoir. With a keen eye for
detail . . . Fields delivers the lowdown on 23 years of commercial
salmon fishing on a remote island off Kodiak Island in the Gulf of
Alaska.
Kirkus Review
“ . . . Vivid details and intelligent insights invigorate this celebration
of the human spirit.”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
“A woman who divides her time between teaching college English and commercial
salmon fishing pens a powerful memoir of her family life on Kodiak Island
after leaving the East Coast behind as a 20-year old newlywed.
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Sports
Illustrated: Women:
Chosen as “This month’s best books for active women” “In
the late 1970's, Leyland Fields moved with her new husband from
the East Coast to a remote region of Alaska. There she became one of the
few women to work in commercial salmon fishing. Her engrossing memoir
chronicles the grueling and sometimes treacherous existence she chose,
which included settling on two uninhabited islands, building houses from
scratch, gutting deer and intermittently traveling around the world.”
Booklist . .
. “To deem this solely a memoir of her life spent as the wife
of a salmon fisherman on a remote Alaskan island would
be missing the boat, so to speak, for Fields’ powerful poetic prose deals
with themes as large as the great outdoors in which she struggles to make
her way and find her place. Barely out of her teens, Fields marries Duncan,
determined to share the life he loves, every backbreaking hour of it:
sailing the open ocean in a tiny skiff, harvesting salmon the way it hasalways
been done: dragging them in my nets, picking them out by hand. Just
as Thoreau went to the woods to live deliberately, so, too, do the Fields
live on this ocean, without electricity, or telephones, with bears and
eagles as their constant companions, choosing it as much for what it offers
as for what it omits. Paying homage to man’s flexibility and gratitude
for God’s grace, Fields’ memoir is haunting in its imagery, uplifting
in its message.”
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"Out On The Deep Blue"
Women, Men, and the Oceans They Fish
Amazon.com:
“ . . .These are gripping stories of quick riches and even quicker
death, of fishing seasons that
last less than a day, and of jobs that
involve hours of tedium interrupted bouts of frenetic effort. Set
in the
frigid and unforgiving waters of of remote places such as the Bering
Sea and the North Atlantic, these 19 chapters vividly describe the realities
and motivations of those pursuing swordfish, herring, salmon, crab, urchins,
and other creatures of the deep. . . . Featuring such noted authors
as Peter Mathiessen, Spike Walker, and Linda Greenlaw, this first compendium
is an absorbing look
at a world few even consider, much less experience.” |
Seattle
Times/Post Intelligencer:
“If all stories are about either strangers coming to town or heroes
going away, these
are tales of heroes going to sea. They are worthy of the telling.”
Kirkus
Review:
“The writing here is always thoughtful, always attentive, and shorn of
the trimmings.”
Booklist:.
“ . . . For readers interested in that topic [the life of the
commercial fisherman], especially those who liked The Perfect Storm,
it is sure to satisfy.
Publisher’s Weekly:
“Sure to appeal to readers who like adventure and introspection.”
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"The
Entangling Net”
Alaska’s Commercial Fishing Women
Tell Their Lives
Jon Van Amerongen, Alaska
Fisherman’s Journal: “Truly remarkable portraits of courage.”
Alaska Fish eries Report:
“These little-known tales of women working in Alaska's commercial
fishing industry make for great reading . . . Readers will be amazed by
their stories.”
The Northern Mariner:
". . . quite exceptional material. . . . One of the most
satisfying books of its kind.”
Journal of American Folklore:
“. . . a powerful and vivid portrayal of commercial fishing in Alaskan
waters. . . . This book is engaging, intriguing and thrilling for anyone
who might be fascinated by the lives of these extraordinary working |
women who thrive on hard challenges, physical and emotional stamina, and
moments of grace within an elemental and fiercely beautiful sphere.”
Pacific
Northwest Quarterly:
“ . . . Fields is a fine lyrical writer . . . The Entangling Net
will be popular in libraries in port towns everywhere and should be included
in all collections relating to women’s studies and labor history.
Readers interested in oral history, natural history, or the creative writing
process will find much value in the methods the author has used to shape
her material and in the book’s fine literary quality."
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The Water Under Fish
Arrival
It is good
to arrive
by sail or oars.
Movement is clean.
Landings are silent.
You can come alone,
no one knows.
But if I arrive
by roaring outboard,
I skim the water;
I make a mark
When I land, I never
land alone;
my skiff drags behind it
all the rest--
the rows of repercussions,
small, wet thunders
that clash against my boots:
the water is telling truth.
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New Release |
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"Surprise Child"
Finding Hope in Unexpected Pregnancy
For the millions of women who
will wake up one day to find themselves pregnant at the wrong time, at a
hard time, at a difficult place in their lives—this book is for you. May you
find the honesty, hope, and joy that I have found through these women’s
stories. And may you be given the strength to carry on.
For an
introduction reading of
"Surprise Child,"
Click Here.
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