2014 WILLA Literary Award Winner for Original Softcover Fiction"A fresh female voice and a bold take on environmental awareness-great read!" - WILLA judges, Women Writing the West, Golden, Colorado". . . an adventure saga, a meditation on earth and water, a novel of pain and injury and the search for healing . . ." - Lillian Howan, author of The Charm Buyers". . . deeply important story . . . gripping plot." - Jordan Rosenfeld, author of Make A Scene and How to Write a Page TurnerRiver guide Madeline Kruse wishes she could save the world-or at least her family. With her father MIA in southeast Asia and her ill mother growing weaker searching for him, Maddie escapes into her work. This time she runs to the deep canyons of Utah, where new dramas are unfolding: oil drilling encroaching on wild rivers and threatening water on ranches and farms-everyone's lifeblood. From farmer Chris Sorensen in the town of Junction, Maddie learns how dangerous the growing risks are to the land and water. She differs in almost every way from Chris, though both their families are spinning apart. Can she find their common ground in time to save the endangered people and places she loves?This debut novel about everything at stake in a forgotten corner of the West "keeps so many dazzling balls in the air: war, love, activism, wilderness-and always, always, the most dazzling ball of all-Lawton's dazzling descriptions of nature." - Jill Koenigsdorg, author of Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall

Junction, Utah

Literature & Fiction

Lawton, Rebecca

Genre Fiction

Wavegirl Books

Second Edition" . . . a seasoned depiction of the nomadic culture, empty canyons, and wild western rivers that define and haunt her. Honest in her assessment of the psychological costs of a gypsy life, artful in her understanding of currents and seasons, Lawton depicts the rivers taking away as well as giving . . . " - David James Duncan, author, The River Why and My Story as Told by Water"Reading Water is both mirror and map, a reminder that a life can take the shape of the river itself-fierce and tender, restless and serene, asking us only for our unwavering fidelity to living, moving water." -Ellen Meloy, author, Eating Stone and The Anthropology of TurquoiseRebecca Lawton begins this literary float trip: "My first view of the river looked like this-a long, blue being at the bottom of a steep canyon." Jump in the raft and join this "whitewater gypsy" and naturalist as she rows you down some of the American West's greatest rivers. With her, you'll come to understand rivers and their impact on the human emotional landscape in a deeper sense. Reading Water offers seekers not only the thrill rides of our rivers, but also their rich ecosystems and spiritual wellsprings. Lawton views river life through various lenses: the hydrological, spiritual, and personal. Even armchair river runners will find much to love about this book-its affection, adventure, wisdom, and sense of place."Rebecca Lawton doesn't just read water, she understands it, speaks it, lives it, and loves it. The finely crafted chapters in Reading Water reflect the wisdom and sharply tuned senses that a life spent on the water can nurture. Lawton's book examines everything from the loss of her mother to marriage, friendship, and work through a shimmering, water lens that reveals remarkable depth." -Pamela Michael, cofounder of River of Words and The Gift of Rivers

Reading Water: Lessons from the River

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

2023 RUBERY BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED 
ACTION & ADVENTURE MEET LOVE & DANGER IN REBECCA LAWTON'S WHAT I NEVER TOLD YOU. 
"Lawton's fluid prose flows like her beloved river . . . simply one of the best collections I’ve read in years." — ANDREW X. PHAM, author, Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars and Catfish and Mandala 
"THESE FIFTEEN STORIES ARE LINKED BY WATER AND WATER PEOPLE. An unforgettable journey on our most beloved element in all its liquid beauty, strength, and potential for violence." — ROGER REAL DROUIN, author, No Other Way 
“Lawton’s beautifully rendered and accessible stories make you want to move quickly from beginning to end, but I urge you—savor the journey.” — PAGE LAMBERT, author, In Search of Kinship and Shifting Stars 
"A powerful collection of stories about connections to the wild and necessary land, rivers, and creatures around us . . . and our essential connections to each other." — JULIAN HOFFMAN, author of The Small Heart of Things 
"Lawton enchants the reader with emotional honesty and an intensity that infuses her stories with the beauty of the natural world." — B.C. RIMBEAUX, best-selling author, adventurer, and whitewater guide 
Second edition, revised and updated from Steelies and Other Endangered Species, a limited-distribution printing by Little Curlew Press (2014; Sarasota, Florida).

What I Never Told You: Stories

Literary

A collection of fifteen stories. In fast-moving waters, the characters find solace from their painful pasts and fight to save that which is most endangered. Rivers, oceans, and ephemeral washes are not only settings, they're vessels for our most beloved element in all its liquid beauty, strength, and potential for violence. Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water is an unforgettable journey on water by an author who knows it from the inside out, having guided on it, swum and sailed it, rowed and paddled it, and written about it for decades.

Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water

Short Stories & Anthologies

Little Curlew Press

Equal parts writer's workshop and spiritual journey, this open-hearted creativity guide will show you how to attain and sustain the creative life you desire. Based on a time-tested principle, and using methods pioneered by the authors, Write Free provides a wealth of inspiration, advice, and activities. Exploring how we attract the conditions and events in our lives, Write Free is an invaluable aid for writers, creative souls, and others who want to envision and achieve the inspired life of their dreams.

Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life

Self-Help

Rosenfeld, Jordan

Creativity

Booktrope Editions

Equal parts writer’s workshop and spiritual journey, this open-hearted guide will show you how to attain and sustain the creative life you desire. Based on a time-tested principle and using methods pioneered by the authors, Write Free provides a wealth of inspiration, advice, and activities. Exploring how we attract the conditions and events in our lives, Write Free is an invaluable aid for writers, creative souls, and others who want to envision and achieve the inspired life of their dreams.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Three months after the birth of her first daughter, Becki Lawton suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke when an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) ruptured in her brain. Slowly, she learned to overcome her cognitive and physical changes and was eventually able to work as a special education paraprofessional. But then, a second stroke. This is Becki's story of facing continuing challenges, with family and professional support. She and her co-author, Dawn Rosewitz, explain what aphasia and apraxia look like from the inside, something uniquely valuable to those touched by stroke and those working with stroke survivors.

Hernzebekana: Her Language of Love: When Words Fail: The Memoir of a Multiple-Stroke Survivor with Aphasia

Rosewitz, Dawn

Professionals & Academics

HenschelHAUS Publishing, Inc.

Former Colorado River guide Rebecca Lawton doesn't advocate being tossed from a raft in some of the world's fiercest whitewater, but she has been plenty of times. And navigating life beneath the waves is a skill every guide-and some first-time boaters-must learn. But despite its title, Swimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems isn't just about swimming. Or the Grand Canyon. It's about immersion-in rivers, life, and livelihoods. Lawton's debut poetry book includes the Pushcart-nominated "On Hearing about Ted" and other short takes on river-running culture. A must-read for every water and nature lover who has ever boated the Grand Canyon-or has wanted to. The title poem was first published in the renowned poetry anthology Going Down Grand: Poems from the Canyon (Lithic Press) edited by Canyon aficionados Peter Anderson and Rick Kempa. "Swimming Grand Canyon" incorporates quotes from river-running pioneer Georgie White Clark. It also describes a few encounters Lawton had with Georgie in the 1970s and 1980s, when both worked as guides in Grand Canyon. At that time, Georgie was in her sixties and still leading Colorado River trips in her own unique style. Georgie wore leopard printswimsuits or cyan sunpantsLong ago the windleathered her skin She squinted above my capthough the sun was not in her eyesand claimed she didn't mindflipping boats on the river In the collection's Pushcart-Prize-nominated poem, "On Hearing about Ted," published in the acorn (a literary journal of the El Dorado Writer's Guild), Lawton describes her awe in meeting the gentle, doomed driver of river shuttles. I saw him first on the roadto Camp Nine and stared, just eighteenmy friends spoke his nameThey said, Ted looks good on the river. "Seen Near Loma," one of the oldest poems in Swimming, was first published in Standing Wave, a literary journal edited by acclaimed Oregon author Elliott Treichel. In "Loma," Lawton describes traveling back to home base in northern Utah after running Grand Canyon river trips. Dropped by her friends Boyce and Sutton near a crossroads, she thought she'd be stuck hitch-hiking by the highway for hours, but instead: The first car up the road is a blue Plymouth sedan. It stops, maybe my only chance all day, and I get in. Two ranchers wearing straw Bailey U-Roll-Its drive me past fields of alfalfa and oceans of unfenced grass (green with red purple and yellow wildflowers) over Douglas Pass where aspen and fir grow together and coyotes wail on the ridge Plenty of the work in Swimming has never been in print before. The most recent poem, "Delicate Arch," describes hiking to the famous arch in the 1970s. I.Back then you could walk therealone or with friends you metup in town or helped down the river Signs showed the way andhow to take photos to triumph not fail "Arch" goes on to talk about Lawton's life after the river and her immersion in writing about it. bent rock in synclinescountless deep grabensarches between themfaults cut so close You can see underneath themand sometimes through

Swimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems (New Women's Voices)

Poetry

Finishing Line Press

In the tradition of America’s strong pioneer women, Rebecca Lawton was one of the first women river guides in the West. For millions of Americans and foreign visitors who have navigated America’s great rivers by raft or boat - and for those who wish they could - this book will help them understand rivers and their impact on the human emotional landscape in a deeper sense. It offers such seekers, not only the thrill rides and vacation destinations of our rivers - but also their rich ecosystems and spiritual wellsprings. As Rebecca Lawton says, "To those who come to know them well, rivers are home." It was the river that taught me instinctive responses, in an unparalleled mentorship that led me throughout the American West every day for more than a decade. Being on the river every day taught me to read water - to psyche out where rocks hid in riffles, find safe passage in inscrutable rapids, and keep moving in flatwater sections." Now, years later, she offers Reading Water and the countless lessons she learned from interpreting rivers and currents, living in the river community, and becoming part of a boater’s subculture.

Reading Water: Lessons from the River (Capital Discovery)

Capital Books

In the tradition of America’s strong pioneer women, Rebecca Lawton was one of the first women river guides in the West. For millions of Americans and foreign visitors who have navigated America’s great rivers by raft or boat - and for those who wish they could - this book will help them understand rivers and their impact on the human emotional landscape in a deeper sense. It offers such seekers, not only the thrill rides and vacation destinations of our rivers, but also their rich ecosystems and spiritual wellsprings. As Rebecca Lawton says, "To those who come to know them well, rivers are home..It was the river that taught me instinctive responses, in an unparalleled mentorship that led me throughout the American West every day for more than a decade. Being on the river every day taught me to read water - to psyche out where rocks hid in riffles, find safe passage in inscrutable rapids, and keep moving in flatwater sections." Now, years later, she offers "Reading Water" and the countless lessons she learned from interpreting rivers and currents, living in the river community, and becoming part of a boater’s subculture.

Personal Transformation

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lawton, Rebecca. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lawton, Rebecca

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lawton, Rebecca. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Junction, Utah

Reading Water: Lessons from the River

What I Never Told You: Stories

Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water

Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life

Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life

Hernzebekana: Her Language of Love: When Words Fail: The Memoir of a Multiple-Stroke Survivor with Aphasia

Swimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems (New Women's Voices)

Reading Water: Lessons from the River (Capital Discovery)

Reading Water: Lessons from the River