The Oasis This Time: Living and Dying with Water in the West
Winner, 2015 Waterston Desert Writing Prize
WINNER, 2015 Waterston Desert Writing Prize
WINNER, 2019 Nautilus Book Award
FINALIST, 2020 Oregon Book Award
FINALIST, 2019 Foreword INDIE
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"Rebecca Lawton's expertise is apparent, as is her enthusiasm." — Wall Street Journal
"Lawton's writing flows through wars and watering places, her prose precise and at times mystic."
— Craig Childs, author of Atlas of a Lost World
"Lawton, a fluvial geologist and former Colorado River guide, shares her love and fears for the endangered Western resource—water . . . ” — Rob Spillman, judge for 2020 Oregon Book Award
"[Lawton's] musings on this beloved arid land and its water shimmer with wonder . . . " — Ana Maria Spagna, author of The Luckiest Scar on Earth
"Lawton brings a poet's eye to the landscapes she loves, but she is, at heart, a warrior." — Andy Weinberger, author of the Amos Parisman series and owner and bookseller at Readers' Books
"Hers is a wake–up call, shaped by Lawton's deep knowledge and love of place, and mostly her commitment to waterways, streams and creeks and rivers and oceans." — Debra Gwartney, author of I'm A Stranger Here Myself
"Rebecca Lawton writes like a child of the wilderness as she brings together the rolling hay fields, a river that can't be tamed, and so many more human-and-nature scenarios . . . " — Julia Park Tracey, author of The Doris Diaries
"Through deft, spirited storytelling, Lawton faces with compassionate courage the painful truths of our defiled and dwindling waterways . . . " — Sarah Juniper Rabkin, author and illustrator of What I Learned at Bug Camp
Genres:
Junction, Utah
WINNER, Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award
WINNER, WILLA Literary Award for Original Softcover Fiction
HONOREE, indieB.R.A.G. Medallion in Fiction
“A fresh female voice and a bold take on environmental awareness—great read!” —WILLA judges, Women Writing the West, Golden, Colorado
River guide Madeline Kruse has to choose. As she navigates the rushing waters of Utah’s rivers, she can't help but feel a sense of freedom and escape from her painful past. But when she arrives in the small town of Junction, she realizes that its wild and rugged landscape may may offer more than just a temporary refuge.
She meets alfalfa farmer Chris Sorensen, discovering a kindred spirit and a possible chance at a life by the river. But just as Maddie begins to let herself hope for a future in Junction, outside forces threaten the land and people she has come to love. Will she choose to return to her roots and confront her past, or will she fight to protect the very waters that make up Utah’s lifeblood?
This timeless story "keeps so many dazzling balls in the air: war, love, activism, wilderness . . . in the thriving, vivid community of Junction, Utah" —Jill Koenigsdorf, author of Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall
"Gripping plot. This tale of two worlds meeting and clashing is timely on so many fronts: environmental, political, and personal." —Jordan Rosenfeld, author of Make A Scene and How to Write a Page Turner
Award-winning author Rebecca Lawton knows water—and the people who love rivers and deep backcountry. In Junction, Utah, she "writes like a child of the wilderness, as she brings together the wild open sky and the rolling hay fields, a river that can't be tamed, and so many more human-and-nature scenes . . . " —Julia Park Tracey, Executive Editor, Sibylline Press
Reading Water: Lessons from the River
FINALIST, FOREWORD INDIES, 2002 Nature Book of the Year
BESTSELLER, San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Books
BACK IN PRINT: Reading Water: Lessons from the River (second edition)
Embark on a literary journey like no other with Rebecca Lawton’s Reading Water. With insights from her life as a Grand Canyon river guide and her expertise as a fluvial geologist, Lawton's book will take you on a thrilling adventure that will leave you with a newfound love and appreciation for flowing water.
In Reading Water, you'll discover:
- Timeless lessons that rivers teach, captured through Lawton's personal experiences and expert knowledge
- The raw and beautiful nature of America's great rivers, including the Colorado of the Grand Canyon, the Rogue in Oregon, and the Stanislaus in California
- The emotional journey of love, betrayal, and redemption that river runners experience while navigating the wild waters
- An insider’s perspective of the complex hydrology of rivers, giving you a deeper understanding of these powerful natural wonders
- How the lessons learned from rivers apply to life in general, whether you're an avid boater or an armchair traveler.
Included in Reading Water:
- Personal anecdotes and adventures from Lawton's time as a top river guide
- Expert insights and knowledge from her many years of work as a fluvial geologist
- Beautiful descriptions and vivid imagery that will transport you to the heart of the river.
Don't miss out on this deeply observed journey through the wild waters of North America. Pick up Reading Water today and enjoy an unforgettable ride!
PRAISE FOR READING WATER
Reading Water is " . . . a seasoned depiction of the nomadic culture, empty canyons, and wild western rivers that define and haunt her. Honest in her assessment of the psychological costs of a gypsy life, artful in her understanding of currents and seasons, Lawton depicts the rivers taking away as well as giving . . . " — David James Duncan, author, The River Why and My Story as Told by Water
"Reading Water is both mirror and map, a reminder that a life can take the shape of the river itself—fierce and tender, restless and serene, asking us only for our unwavering fidelity to living, moving water." — Ellen Meloy, author, Eating Stone and The Anthropology of Turquoise
"Rebecca Lawton doesn't just read water, she understands it, speaks it, lives it, and loves it. The finely crafted chapters in Reading Water reflect the wisdom and sharply tuned senses that a life spent on the water can nurture. Lawton's book examines everything from the loss of her mother to marriage, friendship, and work through a shimmering, water lens that reveals remarkable depth." — Pamela Michael, cofounder of River of Words and The Gift of Rivers
What I Never Told You: Stories
SHORTLISTED 2023 RUBERY BOOK AWARD
FINALIST 2023 IAN BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
"Simply one of the best collections I’ve read in years." — ANDREW X. PHAM, author, Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars and Catfish and Mandala
Rebecca Lawton has spent a lifetime exploring the power and beauty of water, and in her latest collection, What I Never Told You: Stories, she shares a look at life on some of the most treacherous and awe-inspiring waters in North America. From the winding canyon rivers of Utah to the volatile bays of Alaska, the waters in these fifteen linked stories can give life or take it away.
In these pages, readers will meet a diverse cast of characters, each with their own mysterious pasts and struggles. On fast-moving rivers, they find solace and connection, or fight to save the waters they call home. And when water becomes a killer, they must learn to adapt and survive. From the peaceful tranquility of rowing a quiet bay to the heart-pumping adrenaline of running crashing rapids, the waters in this collection have both transformative power and destructive tendencies.
Join Lawton’s characters as they plumb the depths of the Grand Canyon, follow steelhead trout in California's drought-struck streams, and ride Oregon's raging rivers in flood. With her intimate knowledge of these waterways, she paints vivid and haunting scenes that will leave readers captivated and moved.
For fans of adventure and the great outdoors, What I Never Told You is a must-read. It's an unforgettable collection of vignettes that will take you on a journey through the beauty, risk, and danger of the natural world. So grab your life jacket and dive into these unique and powerful waters today.
If you enjoyed the stories in Norman Maclean’s A River Runs through It or Pam Houston’s Cowboys Are My Weakness, you'll love the tales in What I Never Told You. Get your copy now and experience the power of water in an entirely new way.
Published in 2014 as Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water by Little Curlew Press (2014), What I Never Told You: Stories has been revised and updated.
“Lawton’s beautifully rendered and accessible stories make you want to move quickly from beginning to end, but I urge you—savor the journey. Breathe in the spirit of each new place.” — PAGE LAMBERT, author, In Search of Kinship and Shifting Stars
"A powerful collection of stories about connections to the wild and necessary land, rivers, and creatures around us. But as part of the wondrous and fragile web made possible by water, it is also a beautiful meditation on the human heart and our essential connections to each other." — JULIAN HOFFMAN, author of The Small Heart of Things
"Lawton enchants the reader with emotional honesty and an intensity that infuses her stories with the beauty of the natural world." — B.C. RIMBEAUX, best-selling author, adventurer, and whitewater guide
"An unforgettable journey on our most beloved element in all its liquid beauty, strength, and potential for violence." — ROGER REAL DROUIN, publisher of Little Curlew Press and author of No Other Way
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