The Rescuer's Path

“exciting, physically vivid, and romantic.”

 —Ursula K. Le Guin, National Book Award and Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, Hugo and Nebula Awards, over 20 published novels

“I could not stop reading this novel—I loved it!”

 —Carole L. Glickfeld, Flannery O’Connor Award, author of Useful Gifts and Swimming Toward the Ocean

“Vivid, humane, and wise, The Rescuer’s Path had me from its first line to its last.”

 —Cheryl Strayed, Pushcart Prize, author of Wild and Torch

“The writing is spellbinding and draws you forward. Verbal marvels burst forth like brilliant bits of polished agate. Unfurling with the strut and pace of lyrical poetry, it begs to be read aloud.”

—Gar Smith, editor emeritus, Earth Island Journal, and longtime peace activist, in Berkeley Daily Planet

“Friedman illuminates a world. Deft strokes and elegant leaps propel the story forward. The writing is lyrical, the characters vivid, the story captivating.”

—Small Press Review

“These characters will break your heart and put it back together again.”

—Heather Sharfeddin, author of Damaged Goods

“This is the book you can’t put down, the people you will remember, the vibrant story we all share.”

—Carol Denney, activist, writer, musician, Fiddlers for Peace

Paula Friedman's honors include Pushcart Prize nominations and OSPA, New Millennium Writings, and other awards and honors, as well as Centrum and Soapstone residencies and fellowships. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous print and online literary magazines and anthologies. Her books include the novel The Rescuer's Path (Plain View Press, 2012, 2018), her novel The Change Chronicles (Lillicat Publishers, 2018) and a poetry chapbook, Time and Other Details (Highlights Press, 2006).
Ms. Friedman is an author and freelance book editor residing near Portland, Oregon. She has previously taught writing workshops in Hood River, Oregon, directed public relations for the Judah Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California, directed the international Rosenberg Award for Poems on the Jewish Experience, and founded the collective literary magazine The Open Cell. She has run poetry readings and writers workshops in the Bay Area, Paris, and elsewhere, and recently compiled an anthology of West Coast Jewish women's poetry. She holds an M.A. from San Francisco State University and a B.A. from Cornell University. A reunited birthmother and former welfare mother, she is active in peace and social justice issues and received the 2006 award of the Columbia River Fellowship for Peace.

part 1. off-trail 11

Part 2. Trail Crest 67

Part 3. The Hole in Time 119

Reader’s Guide 193

About the Author 197