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Dove Creek
Dove Creek is a wise, eloquent, fiercely honest fictional chronicle of a young woman's venturesome journey from her bare-bones Kentucky background to an Indian reservation in the Pacific Northwest. She finds a new life as a much-loved healer--a blonde, female, hillbilly shaman whose self-destruction and dogged perseverance come together in a novel of intimacy that crosses the boundaries of culture and time.
"We don't have enough female quest stories, but this is one of them--lyrical in its language, vivid in its detail, important in its observations of the chaos and confusion that come when a young woman lets go of her identity and strikes out on her own perilous journey of self-discovery."
-Kim Barnes, author of A Country Called Home
"Paula Marie Coomer writes like a house afire, and her richly variegated novel deserves a prominent place in the literature of the modern American west."
-Ed McClanahan, author of Famous People I have Known
and O the Clear Moment.
"We don't have enough female quest stories, but this is one of them--lyrical in its language, vivid in its detail, important in its observations of the chaos and confusion that come when a young woman lets go of her identity and strikes out on her own perilous journey of self-discovery."
-Kim Barnes, author of A Country Called Home
"Paula Marie Coomer writes like a house afire, and her richly variegated novel deserves a prominent place in the literature of the modern American west."
-Ed McClanahan, author of Famous People I have Known
and O the Clear Moment.
234 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2010
5 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Paula Coomer
13 books27 followersPaula Coomer is a poet and writer of both fiction and non-fiction. The daughter of more than two hundred years of Kentucky Appalachian farmers, she lived most of her childhood in the Ohio River town of New Albany, Indiana. Her work has appeared most recently in Raven Chronicles.
Ms. Coomer's books include novels Dove Creek and Jagged Edge of the Sky, Summer of Government Cheese and Somebody Should Have Scolded the Girl, short stories, and Nurses Who Love English, poetry, among others. Coomer lives in southeast Washington State. Find out more at www.paulamariecoomer.com.
Ms. Coomer's books include novels Dove Creek and Jagged Edge of the Sky, Summer of Government Cheese and Somebody Should Have Scolded the Girl, short stories, and Nurses Who Love English, poetry, among others. Coomer lives in southeast Washington State. Find out more at www.paulamariecoomer.com.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 19, 2011
Disclosure: I work for the publisher of this book - Libertary.com
That being said, just like your everyday reader, we choose what we read, and what we represent. I chose "Dove Creek". Let me tell you why: I wanted something that made me think, but also kept me engaged. I was in the mood to learn something, but also wanted a "good read". I wanted to see something from a new perspective. "Dove Creek" ticked all those boxes and more. Life is a journey, no two are alike - this book uses one unique journey to tell a tale of ultimate success (hint, that success isn't just monetary).
That being said, just like your everyday reader, we choose what we read, and what we represent. I chose "Dove Creek". Let me tell you why: I wanted something that made me think, but also kept me engaged. I was in the mood to learn something, but also wanted a "good read". I wanted to see something from a new perspective. "Dove Creek" ticked all those boxes and more. Life is a journey, no two are alike - this book uses one unique journey to tell a tale of ultimate success (hint, that success isn't just monetary).
January 22, 2011
I am glad I won this book because I am not sure I would of paid full price for it and then I would of missed a good book. The main character is going through a finding herself process. The story was interesting and true-to-life. I will recommend this book to one of my book discussion groups.
April 15, 2011
I won this book via Goodreads First-reads. It was a little hard for me to follow. The story was interesting but not a book I'd rave over.
June 30, 2011
This is the story of Patricia Faye who departs from Kentucky after catching her husband at a motel with her friend's wife. Pat takes her sons Brett age ten, and Zach age seven. She travels to Lapwai, Idaho to take a position as a public health nurse.
We observe her interactions with an elderly woman who lived in such poverty that she didn't have a refriderator or pots and pans. Patricia's first step was to convince this woman to accept a flu shot. After that, Patricia found a better place for the woman to live, in a Senior Housing apartment.
In narrating the story, she makes us aware of the health issues facing these American Indians living on a reservation. She deals with obesity that exists on an epidemic level and causes an extroardinary number of amputations. In this regard, she attempts to make people aware of their diet and to spot the early symptoms such as the loss of feeling in the feet.
She meets a man, has trouble with her children and continues to minister to the sick and elderly while reminiscing about events in her past.
The last part of the novel is told in diary form. Overall, the story is entertaining as we see her bravery in helping those in need. However, there were many times when she thought about her past and this took away from the flow of the story.
We observe her interactions with an elderly woman who lived in such poverty that she didn't have a refriderator or pots and pans. Patricia's first step was to convince this woman to accept a flu shot. After that, Patricia found a better place for the woman to live, in a Senior Housing apartment.
In narrating the story, she makes us aware of the health issues facing these American Indians living on a reservation. She deals with obesity that exists on an epidemic level and causes an extroardinary number of amputations. In this regard, she attempts to make people aware of their diet and to spot the early symptoms such as the loss of feeling in the feet.
She meets a man, has trouble with her children and continues to minister to the sick and elderly while reminiscing about events in her past.
The last part of the novel is told in diary form. Overall, the story is entertaining as we see her bravery in helping those in need. However, there were many times when she thought about her past and this took away from the flow of the story.
June 6, 2011
Dove Creek is a beautifully written novel of a woman’s modern day adventure in the American West. Her journey does not follow a typical path, however.
After a disastrous and abusive marriage to a policeman she leaves her native Kentucky.
Single mother Patricia Morrison wants to make a difference in the lives of others. She draws on her Cherokee roots for the courage to find herself, and finds a place in the Pacific Northwest as a Public Health nurse.
Her journey to heal others leads her to the beliefs of the Nez Perce people. Her journey is not an easy one. She has to constantly prove herself to the people she treats, those in the community, co-workers, even her own family. Yet her perseverance and strength do indeed make a difference.
The book mixes old ways and beliefs with the reality and culture of the modern world that we know now. This is a very interesting blend, both enlightening and comforting.
Ms. Coomer writes in an open and honest way, especially in dealing with sensitive women’s issues. Her book is unique and interesting.
After a disastrous and abusive marriage to a policeman she leaves her native Kentucky.
Single mother Patricia Morrison wants to make a difference in the lives of others. She draws on her Cherokee roots for the courage to find herself, and finds a place in the Pacific Northwest as a Public Health nurse.
Her journey to heal others leads her to the beliefs of the Nez Perce people. Her journey is not an easy one. She has to constantly prove herself to the people she treats, those in the community, co-workers, even her own family. Yet her perseverance and strength do indeed make a difference.
The book mixes old ways and beliefs with the reality and culture of the modern world that we know now. This is a very interesting blend, both enlightening and comforting.
Ms. Coomer writes in an open and honest way, especially in dealing with sensitive women’s issues. Her book is unique and interesting.
February 15, 2011
Paula Coomer is an excellent writer. In truth she is an artist. Her sentences are some of the most beautiful I have ever read. With that said, I don't know what to make of Dove Creek. It seemed disjointed to me. I had a hard time following it. While there seems to be some sort of chronology-but, not really-I would often wonder why passages were in the particular order they were in. I think they could be in just about any order. The passages were very absorbing in and of themselves, but at times they would ramble and become almost pointless. The one thing I have to say in favor of this book is that it reminded me a lot of Susan Power's "The Grassdancer" , It has an almost identical feel to it. If Ms. Coomer was trying to embue her writing with a Native American sense of time, space, chronology, I think she managed it rather well. I would recommend this book, just don't expect to find your typical American novel.
October 15, 2011
This is supposedly fictitious memoir that reads like a real memoir. Paula's writing is sometimes painfully beautiful and I really enjoyed the way her character was able to come to terms with a troubled childhood in Kentucky, abusive marriages, and being a single parent by working as an Indian Health Nurse at two Idaho Indian reservations. I particularly liked her comparison with the Nez Perce to her own Kentucky background. I've noticed that many reviews of this book were written by readers who were given the book free for writing a blurb about it and that they felt some reluctance about doing it. I on the other hand chose to read Paula's book and am very happy that I did. I'm not compelled to write any kind of review but I give this book high praise.
January 12, 2011
In reading this book, I kept checking to make sure it was really a novel and not a biography. The book flows so much like a biography or a diary that you are quickly drawn into it. You follow a young woman raised in rural Kentucky, by today's standards, in a dysfunctional family. As she marries and goes west, she raises two children and gets a divorce. Her work as a Public Health Nurse on a Nez Perce reservation showed parallels with her life in Kentucky. This book is about her journey through life and healing herself with the aid of Indian traditions and time. It is a wonderful "First Reads" book that I would recommend.
August 3, 2016
Some books you read and you know they are fiction. While at times I was confused or forced to pay close attention, this book is amazing in that I was utterly convinced it was real. She is a gifted author and while not always easy to follow, I feel I learned while reading an interesting book I might not have read otherwise. If you have any interest in the plight of native Americans in the west, this will fascinate you.
March 10, 2011
I "won" this book and am glad because I did enjoy reading it although I found it to be disjointed. Would get all engrossed in a particular phase of her life and then, all of a sudden, it would jump somewhere else! Often would turn back the page to see if I had missed something in the telling.
Despite this I still recommend Paul Coomer's book.
Despite this I still recommend Paul Coomer's book.
December 19, 2013
Memoir, history, geography and social commentary - Coomer tells her story in kaleidoscope, a coherent looking forward and back through losing and finding community, loves, purpose, and herself. But, the story is not Coomer's alone. She gives voice to the land and its people as well. Beautiful.
September 23, 2011
A lot of good Indian culture to digest as you read. The flashbacks are confusing and distracting. I was never sure where I was in the author's story.
January 12, 2021
This book just didn't work for me. I couldn't warm to any of the characters and as the book progressed, I found myself disliking the story. I was…unfortunately bored with it, the story is rambling and all over the place. Is a bunch of little snipes of her life and nothing the make a cohesion between them, I try to like this, give a little chance, the I may get better, but I finally give out, this book was not good.
September 2, 2020
It was okay at first, but the longer it went on, the less I liked or cared about the character and I only finished it out of a sense of thoroughness.
July 7, 2021
slice of a life. PNW author for the
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews