Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer

Lende (If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name) shares personal stories and inspirational insights gleaned through her career as an obituary writer for the Chilkat Valley News, her local paper in Haines, Alaska. The title is a suggestion for finding happiness, and it also describes Lende’s aim when eulogizing local citizens such as Russ, who didn’t contact his family for 38 years yet kept every holiday card they sent him. The death of Clyde Bell, a seafood proprietor known for his chemtrail conspiracy theories, leaves the author contemplating people whose value goes unrecognized until they are gone. As for Lende’s own life, she recalls letting go of perfectionism and total control, particularly after her youngest daughter’s unexpected pregnancy, and creating connections whereever she can, whether on a daily dog walk or with a ragtag a cappella group. In the most poignant chapter, Lende attends the funeral of a friend who died of cancer, ultimately overcoming feelings of despair and finding the ability to “open [her] clenched heart a little wider.” Lende vividly paints her motley cast of characters and their rugged Alaskan setting, and her homespun style provides easy access to some deep and nuanced examinations on life and death. [em]Agent: Elizabeth Wales, Wales Literary Agency. (Apr.) [/em]