Photography ©Avery Pearson
Book Nook
August/September Selections
by Santa Fean Staff
Nonfiction: Running Home: A Memoir by Katie Arnold
By Tamara Johnson
Running Home: A Memoir, by Santa Fe writer Katie Arnold, is a thoughtful meditation on healing, strength and the power of love. Following the death of her father immediately after the birth of her second daughter, Arnold must reckon with crippling loss and anxiety. Realizing “grief, like love, is physical,” she rediscovers her passion for running, which becomes both a symbol and a practice for her. Her ultrarunning takes her into difficult, extreme, sometimes dangerous environments, into even more challenging psychological terrain and eventually to an inner calm. As the title suggests, she comes to realize the love for and from her family are the ultimate sources of healing. Arnold’s sincere, inspiring lesson is that the only way out is by moving through, and in her case, by moving both literally and mindfully.
Fiction: Out There by Sarah Stark
By Meg Peralta-Silva
Out There, a novel by Santa Fe author Sarah Stark, traces the journey of Jefferson Long Soldier, a young army veteran returning from Iraq to his home in Santa Fe. As he wrestles with PTSD and attempts to reconcile his experience “out there” with who he was and who he wants to be, he is guided by a book he feels saved his life: One Hundred Years of Solitude. He embarks on a road trip to Mexico to meet the author, Gabriel García Márquez. Though the story can at times be somber, the novel is full of hope, humor and magical realism, and it recognizes the miracle of simply being alive. The tale reminds us that healing may lie in the journey towards what we think we need, and not necessarily in receiving that thing.
Children’s Book: I Dreamed I Was a Dog by Joel Nakamura
By Nicole Pearson
“The universe is a dream dreamed by a single dreamer where all the dream characters dream too.” Inspired by that Arthur Schopenhauer quote, award-winning Santa Fe artist Joel Nakamura wrote and illustrated the story of a young boy and his vivid dreams. Starting as a dog and morphing into other animals and objects (such as a cloud, a train, a flying saucer), the boy experiences the vastness of the universe and the interconnectedness of everything in it. A great bedtime story, I Dreamed I Was a Dog takes readers on a bold, colorful and creative journey that will delight young readers and adults alike.
Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, Nicole came with her fiancé back to his hometown of Santa Fe after college. They have one son. Nicole has years of experience editing academic manuscripts for publication. She holds multiple degrees, including a BS in speech, language and hearing, and two master’s degrees in education. She loves hiking, camping, reading, collecting bronze sculptures, early mornings and any opportunity to watch live sporting events.
Tamara Johnson is a writer, educator and dancer living in Santa Fe. She grew up in New York and moved to New Mexico five years ago after a decade working in South America and Asia.
Meg Peralta-Silva was born in Baltimore and lived in many states and countries before moving to New Mexico three years ago. She has worked as a youth advocate, creative expression instructor, program director and farm intern. She enjoys learning from others’ perspectives and challenging her own biases.
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