Dedication

This book is dedicated to my mother

I grew up in a home with many warm and lively conversations around the dinner table.  My mom was talented at bringing diverse people together and these early experiences shaped my sense of community and belonging.   Her love of rivers, books, food and fun, ripple out to her wide circle of friends and family.

Mom’s curiosity, love and support permeate the pages of this book.

“I want to know the tribes inside of us,

Those we failed, the ones who failed us,

The shards they leave to balance

All the dark, the lights

Between our days. 

  As time goes by, we all become more still.

The fabric of this ancient place absorbs us.

We breathe and sleep and walk with soothed and healing souls.

We understand that

it all begins with the river.”

– by Lois Higgins

from her River Poems