In Coyote and the River of the West, Mike Nelson with Ada Turing weave together myth, memory, and geography into a sweeping yet intimate narrative. From Crab Creek's vanishing waters to the basalt scablands, from orchards and mining towns to the Columbia Icefields, this book traces how landscapes shape families - and how families, in turn, carry those landscapes forward.
At the heart of the chronicle lies a dedication: a gathering of letters and remembrances for Nelson's daughter, Melissa, and her daughter, Lucie. Here, uncles, aunts, cousins, and lifelong friends lend their voices - not as history, but as love made visible on the page. Blending the voice of Coyote the trickster with the lived experiences of one family, Coyote and the River of the West offers readers a meditation on place, resilience, and the enduring currents of memory.