If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska

At first I found this book to be a fun, light read, something I could pick up when I just had a few minutes to sit and read. It reads like something you'd hear on NPR, small town tidbits. Yet, about 2/3 of the way through, the author slowly starts to delve deeper into her own thoughts, her own heart, and starts to reveal a part of herself that is not only dark at times, but is so honest you almost feel guilty, like you're listening in on someone else's confession.

The last few chapters of this book are so beautifully written that I found myself reading them over and over, not wanting to let go of the imagery presented, the people i'd come to really be interested in...and in a way, a little afraid of what might happen next. Alas, the final journey (and end of the book) did take me by surprise, not by what is written, but at the emotional depth the writer is able to not only reach, but convey. This book is light, funny and fun...but it's also a wonderful journey into the soul of a woman who still asks 'what if' and 'why' and most importanty....'and why not?'

I highly recommend this book not just because it will teach you about small town living, or Alaska, or even the author herself, but because it will make you stop and think about yourself as well...and in the end, isn't that the what great literature should do? Help us open up our windows just a crack more? - Vincent Yanez, Author of: It Doesn't Matter Which Road You Take

I live in rural Colorado and first moved here from New York City just after graduate school. Heather's accounts and comparisons of living in a small town in Alaska I can relate to. Opportunities are limited but adventure is bountiful. Her stories and feelings sound so familiar to me it is like looking in the mirror. The sections in between the chapters "Duly Noted" bring the characters and flavor of the community to life. Somehow I never quite thought of a cemetary as a multi-residential district but I guess it is. The residents just don't move. If you are thinking Alaska is for you read this book first. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. By the way I picked this book up because I am going to Alaska next year.

Many many miles from Haines, Alaska, I found this new book at Northwind Books at Finlandia University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Yet the views of small-town living will strike a note of recognition for any small-town residents anywhere.

Lende's view of her town and her interactions with her old and new friends, in sad and glad times, especially with the focus of her newspaper assignment, is a delight to read.

One of the best "first books" I've read in a long time. Had to purchase another copy to send to relatives living in Sitka, Alaska.

Recommend it highly.

This is my town, these are my friends. Heather does a great job portraying our lives. She makes me remember why I live here and after reading this book you'll wish you lived here too. And, yes, everything she's written is all true...and the Duly Noted's are for real.

I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this book. Lende celebrates the simple life which so often goes unnoticed. The people came alive for me and reminded me of so many characters that I know. I was so moved by the book that I wrote to the Chamber of Commerce in Haines, AK to get more information about this little bit of heaven where neighbors take care of each other.