widow walk
Acknowledgments
To
Allen Hurt and Nick Kazan
For constructive inspiration
To
Barbara Bourdeau, John Aylward, Rosemary Ambrosia Bradley, Carmen Bartl, Wayne Bliss,
Paul Auerbach, Greg Brown, Celine Cimino, Shawn Comerford, Joe Curiel, John DeDakis, Nina Ferrari, Neil Gonzalez, S.P. Hays, Dorbe Holden, Scott James, Abby Kitten, Angela LaSalle, Francesca LaSalle, Mo Matthiesen Weber, Dave McClinton, Tina Minnick, Kimberly Moore, Randy Mott, Mary Mulcare, Archana Murthy, Kelsye Nelson, Carey Pelto, Thomas Polizzi, Paul Racey, Sherry Roberts, Tony Roberts, Lance Rosen, Tom Skerritt,
Laura Smith, Sandy Porrier Smith, Sue Taylor and Theresa Tavernero
For encouragement and comments
And to
Mike Vouri, a Pacific Northwest Historian; The Washington State Historical Society; and the Pacific Northwest Native American tribal storytellers
For historical context and perspective
Widow Walk
Book Discussion Guide
1. Widow Walk has been compared to Last of the Mohicans and Cold Mountain. How is this story similar to those historical fictional works?
2. Emmy Evers in Widow Walk has been compared to other fictional women like Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. How is Emmy alike and how is she different than Scarlett and other strong female protagonists in literature?
3. In 1858 only 5,000 non-native settlers had moved to the Pacific Northwest. It is estimated that over a thirty times that number of aboriginal (“First Nation”) people lived along the coast at that time. Imagine that you were a non-native settler or a First Nation inhabitant. How would you behave if you saw strangers arrive at your home?
4. Conflict between the new settlers and First Nation peoples was inevitable and sometimes became violent. Expansion of population into new territories was important to both the U.S. and Britain. Was the “jingoism,” as manifested in the mid-nineteenth century American and European history, beneficial or destructive?
5. Based on how Christian missionary activity is depicted in Widow Walk, how do you assess its impact and/or effectiveness?
6. The responses of the white governments and native peoples to the massacres as depicted in Widow Walk were frequently harsh. In your opinion, were they justified?
7. What is a “Potlatch” and why was it important to the Pacific Northwest First Nation tribes? Why did the white governments and missionaries eventually outlaw the Potlatch? How is the Potlatch as now re-established in the twentieth and twenty first century different than the tradition as originally celebrated? Is this good or bad?
8. What is a totem and what is its importance to Pacific Northwest First Nations peoples? What is the significance of the animals depicted in Widow Walk? Who is Raven God in the Pacific Northwest native lore? Are there similarities between these archetypes and those found in other cultures?
9. Imagine your family is expecting the birth of another child during the mid-nineteenth century in Pacific Northwest. How would you prepare for this event? Why did so many women die during and after childbirth in the nineteenth and early twentieth century?
10. Can the actions of Anah against white settlers and other tribes as depicted in Widow Walk be interpreted as sociopathic, predatory or justifiable? What, in your opinion, is the relationship between managing sociopathic behavior and the vibrancy of an economy?
About the Author
A physician, sculptor, award-winning filmmaker, and author, Gar LaSalle has been honored widely in the medical and fine arts communities for his leadership and creativity.
LaSalle’s 1976 award winning feature length documentary, Diary of a Moonlighter premiered nationally on PBS and was the first-ever film about the new specialty of Emergency Medicine.
His two award-winning historical fiction novels. Widow Walk, published in 2014 by Greenleaf won multiple awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for Literature, the eLit Silver Medal, the IndieReaders Award for Best Novel, and the San Francisco Book Festival Grand Jury Prize for General Fiction.
Isthmus, published in 2015 by Avasta Press, the first sequel in the series, was a finalist for the PNWWA Nancy Pearl award for literature.
Widow Walk has been optioned by Heyou Media Inc. for a feature film.
http://www.garlasalle.com/about/bio/
Isthmus
The Second Book in the Award-Winning
Widow Walk saga
It is 1860 and revolution is erupting throughout the world over universal emancipation. Civil war looms in the Unites States. In the midst of it all, a young woman is moving back to Boston with what is left of her family, devastated and bankrupted by savage, tragic events that occurred less than a year ago in the Pacific Northwest.
They traverse a hostile terrain on the new Panama isthmus railroad, the most modern transportation in the world. From inside their coach they watch the humid forest, a different type of green from what they knew up north, slipping fast past, a warm verdant blur. Looking down the aisle they see an uncomfortable array of fellow travelers, an international mix of characters whom they will get to know all too well . . . each with hidden hopes and dreams . . . predators and victims, desperadoes and hangmen, widows and widow makers. A convenient ride through the jungle. An inconvenient assault. A run for their lives.
This new edition of Isthmus, first published in 2016, was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Nancy Pearl Award for excellence in fiction.
Available at online retailers.
For more information, please visit
Solipsispublishing.com, and
GarLaSalle.com
The Fairness
of Beasts
The Third Book in
the Acclaimed
Widow Walk Saga.
It is 1862. A massive Union army is invading the verdant peninsula of Virginia to take Richmond and end the Civil war. Amidst this conflict, a young woman’s wounded lover stands in harm’s way. To rescue him, she must risk everything she holds dear and cross enemy lines. The fate of her young family hangs in the balance, as does that of the entire nation. The risk she takes turns out to test her heart beyond anything she could have imagined.
Available at online retailers.
For more information, please visit
Solipsispublishing.com, and
GarLaSalle.com
