What We're Reading: Jami Recommends

Thinking about getting away from it all? You can't get much farther (or smaller) than Haines, Alaska. Author Heather Lende knows everything that's delightful about living in Haines . . . and everything that's not. I loved this look at small-town life. If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name is a surprisingly deep book—full of insights into life, community, and loss—for something so fun.

Awesome scenery. Native Alaskan traditions. Eccentric neighbors. Contentious local politics. Life, death, love, and bears. It's all there.

Lende writes obituaries and social news for the local paper, which gives her an unusual vantage point we're lucky to share in. She's warm and funny, freely sharing her flaws and challenges. She's honest about her neighbors, but never snarky.

Yes, it's occasionally heartbreaking, but when I put the book down I went straight to the sequel: Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs. Both of them will leave you feeling uplifted and privileged to have shared in her well-lived life.