Intrigued by a dream, an aging elf adventures beyond the meadow creek he has called home since being sent into the wilderness as an orphan. Driven by insatiable curiosity, he sets off with only the words of a nursery rhyme to direct him:
If ever you’re lost in confusion,
Turn to the creek and its flow:
Meandering, falling through gorge,
Through desert, in drought, or in snow.
Step forth with a stride quick and steady.
Trust guidance to come as you go.
Its course from the crest of the Rockies to the vast Pacific leads him through a colorful spectrum of lives and deaths of roadrunners that heal and hummingbird historians, a halfling and a blundering alchemist, both empathic and aggressive cacti, an effete bullfrog and a giggling mama bear. The lyrical prose builds till the Deepest Longing we each carry calls his heart Homeward.
Learn the ways of water and glimpse the biodiversity of our spectacular American West. Join the ever-changing dance of creek and elf as they pass among a delightful contingent of creatures who have lessons for Rowan’s ebbing life . . . and perhaps yours.
“A cult classic.” Nancy London, co-author of Our Bodies, Our Selves.
“Rich imagery to be enjoyed in small bites . . . like chocolate.” Rev. Jane Bronson
“A charming, untraditional introduction to the realms of aging and dying and death.” L James Johnson, author of The Jesus Principle
“Exquisite, precious, pure delight.” Connie Clark, author of Joy After 50: A Woman’s Guide
“But elves don’t die!” Elizabeth Pomada, literary agent.
As the otter asks, entrusting the elf to the rapids he has never dared pass through himself: “You must enter the river as you entered life: with eyes focused on the journey. Would we choose life if we were looking only at its destination?”