7/1/20 OF BEARS AND BALLOTS BY HEATHER LENDE

Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books (June 30, 2020)
Publication Date: June 30, 2020

“This book will inspire people to work with and for their neighbors in all kinds of ways!” —Bill McKibben, author of Falter  The writer whom the Los Angeles Times calls “part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott” now brings us her quirky and compassionate account of holding local office.

Heather Lende was one of the thousands of women inspired to take a more active role in politics during the past few years. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won! But tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines—a place accessible from the nearest city, Juneau, only by boat or plane—isn’t the sleepy town that it appears to be: from a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbor to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street to the recall campaign that targeted three assembly members, including Lende, we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation, the lofty ideals of our republic, and how the polarizing national politics of our era play out in one small town.

With an entertaining cast of offbeat but relatable characters, Of Bears and Ballots is an inspirational tale about what living in a community really means, and what we owe one another.


THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics is an autobiography you are going to want to read.

Heather Lende was so inspired to take on politics that she ran an entire campaign and won in less than $1,000 despite a stiff competition of 9 candidates for 3 open seats in Haines Borough, Alaska.

I enjoyed this non-fiction political autobiography of Lende, an obituary writer for a local newspaper. From small town issues to issues that reached nationwide attention like the seizure, and the legalization of marijuana, this book had it all that made this such an interesting read for me.

I loved learning about running the politics of this small Alaskan town with all the issues Lende was faced with.

This book was definitely a read that I learned a lot from and was also highly entertaining. I recommend this for a quick read that is most relevant and eye opening.

I really am glad to have had a chance to read this book.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Biography

Thank you so much for reading what I write, especially my newest book, Find the Good. (And for wanting to know a little more about me. Although my life is pretty much an open book.)My personal essays and columns have been widely distributed- from NPR and Country Living to the Christian Science Monitor and Woman's Day magazine- where I was a contributing editor for a few years. I write obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News and an Alaska Dispatch News column. I live in tiny Haines, Alaska where my husband owns a lumberyard and we have a big family. I blog and post photos at my website and on facebook. (Haines is a pretty place.) My big story is that as soon as my first book, New York Times bestseller If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name was published in 2005, I was run over by a truck, which Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs pretty much covers. I'm better now, and so grateful that I laugh when I say, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."