Kaya McLaren

I love that at our school assemblies, there is a drum. Today, students and community celebrated Native Heritage Month by wearing ribbon shirts and ribbon skirts, and saying in the Salish Language, “I am smart. I am strong. I have a good heart. We are all smart. We are all strong. We all have good hearts.” Then, we stood while a small group of students and community members drummed and sang. Students made some speeches, and then we circle danced. I’m a 3-8 reading intervention teacher this year and I really love my job and my students. Don’t worry though— I’m still writing. I just haven’t liked anything I’ve written lately. That will change. Life always does. But back to my school. Last week, they celebrated Veteran’s Day by inviting veterans to say whatever was in their hearts, and then we all stood while a small group of students and elders drummed and sang an honor song. Then elementary students presented veterans with cards and pictures they made before all students and staff lined up and shook hands with all veterans and thanked them for their service. There were five who served in Vietnam and it touched me to see the love and gratitude they received from our students and returned to them. Another thing that is special about our school is that there are four elders that come to the school two afternoons a week who teach individual students to sage themselves to clear themselves of negativity and then they counsel them through whatever is weighing on their hearts. It’s not a perfect place or an easy job, but there’s much to appreciate about this community and this place.

Glorious autumn!

These days I’m the reading intervention teacher in a small school in an even smaller town on the 12 Tribes of the Colville Reservation. After school, I love to walk along the lakeshore. Today, my dog and ai found this heart-shaped stone and it made me think of Cassie in HOW I CAME TO SPARKLE AGAIN. It’s still a great Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s holiday book.

Loving this little treasure. I don’t like problems, and these days I find I don’t like to read or write about problems. This is just pure problem-less loveliness. . I tell you, it is like balm.

I am mending my grandmother’s quilt
Petals of alternating bright prints
Like good wishes painstakenly sewn
Something bright and cheery
Made from what could be salvaged
An act of love
Or perhaps an apology
I no longer remember
Whether it was made by my grandmother’s mother and step dad
Following their reunification
Months after fleeing Alaska
And her abusive biological dad
Or whether it was made
By the parents of her step dad
Perhaps when they welcomed two scared little girls alone
Into their lives and hearts
Many stitches are imperfect
Made by the hands of inexperience
Especially my grandmother’s awkward whip stitches
On places that needed repairing
No one taught her to slip stitch
Layers of stitches that were the best my ancestors knew how to do
Now I add my own imperfect stitches
To hold together what remains of this tattered story
Of imperfect people doing the best they could do
People who didn’t know enough
Or perhaps knew just enough
To turn torn and stained things
Into a beautiful gesture of love.

-Kaya McLaren, author of What’s Worth Keeping, July 6, 2023

The funniest thing just happened to me. While I was outside pumping up my new SUP, a woman I've never met stopped in front of my house, stepped out of her car, and called out the secret Zanika call in the correct pitch like a song or yodel, "Hi-lo mini-mini-ka-ka-cha-cha-wah-lo!" and though I didn't recognize her, I called back something like the secret Zanika answer, "Dominica ahnika zahnika boomdeeyada yoohoo!" and then we introduced ourselves and laughed a lot. She had gone to Camp Zanika just a few years before my time and had read THE FIRELIGHT GIRLS. Her parents lived up the street and she had always hoped I'd be in my yard over the years when she drove by. Today she was helping them move and have a garage sale. Funny! And that, people, is how you make friends.

Three years ago, I made a series of YouTube videos for people who were going through the experience of breast cancer and breast cancer treatment, and a few others for their friends and family. I thought they would reach a lot of people and maybe help them, but they didn't reach a lot of people. Algorithms, I guess. I thought my book about the aftermath of breast cancer would reach and help a lot of people, too, but it didn't either. Releasing a book during a pandemic, I guess. Anyway, if you know someone who is struggling with any of this, just know I put content out into the world to try to help and that it still exists even if I'm not actively doing anything to promote it. Help those who would benefit from it find it.
https://youtu.be/52m1Oqw2OKQ
cancer PTSD

Making Peace With Wondering Why I Got Cancer Kaya McLaren has had a lot of experiences in life, and one of them was cancer. She has written six novels including WHAT’S WORTH KEEPING, a story about redis...

I was a guest on Christine's writing blog recently. Enjoy!

Consider your Manuscript Like an Architect's Blueprints: Author Interview with Kaya McLaren "Christine L. Henderson - Reading & Writing, find new authors and books, get publishing tips, improve your writing, market your books, publish!

Recently, I'd had it with wildfire smoke in my hometown, so I thought I'd drive east to the Black Hills, where I used to be an archaeologist. The smoke followed me there, so I kept driving east. I realized it was my big chance to see a New England autumn. Below are some posts of bookstores I loved visiting along the way. When THE FIRELIGHT GIRLS was released, I was living in Mexico and didn't get out to promote it, and when THE ROAD TO ENCHANTMENT came out, I was teaching and couldn't really get out of town in any predictable way during winter, so I didn't promote that one on the road either. Then the pandemic hit just before WHAT'S WORTH KEEPING came out, so that was a virtual launch at a time when I think all of us had had enough of Zoom by the end of any given day. I have really missed visiting bookstores, meeting the booksellers who match people with the books that will answer the questions in their hearts. I know that WHAT'S WORTH KEEPING will answer the questions in many people's hearts, and I'm so grateful to all of the booksellers who will help those who need it find it. When I was in junior high, my aunt and uncle owned the bookstore in our hometown. My mom worked there. Bookstores still feel like home to me. I'll be making an effort to visit more. One bookseller told me that THE ROAD TO ENCHANTMENT is out of print now, and that THE FIRELIGHT GIRLS is print on demand and expensive. That's on me. I didn't promote them enough. I hope publication of future titles will ressurect my backlist, especially as the publishing industry recovers from the big blows it took during the pandemic when only one printing house in the country could operate. I'm hopeful. They're good books. It's not too late for WHAT'S WORTH KEEPING to get the love it deserves. I realize that when it first came out, I wasn't really ready to talk about breast cancer the way I am now. Now, talking about it doesn't weaken me like it did then. I'm far enough from it. So if you know of any book clubs that want to choose it and Zoom in with me, reach out to me. Let's have an interesting conversation.