In 1978, Harold and Magdalena Brown and their young son Sean move to Halfway, Oregon, a small town in northeast Oregon cradled in the palm of the granite peaked Wallowa Mountains. Magdalena wants to build a greenhouse and sell medicinal herbs while Harold wants his own auto mechanics business. Joe Mobey, owner of the town's only grocery store, befriends the couple but thinks they don't have the skills to make it in such a rural area. The Browns do make a go of it though, for Harold is a superb mechanic, and folks bring their vehicles to him despite their opinions on his drinking and the weird metal sculptures he scatters all over the hillside in front of his house. Mag builds her greenhouse and begins selling her plants all over Oregon. Life for the Browns should be rosy, but Harold's drinking worsens, and Mag's anger grows. To make matters worse, Harold's art attracts the attention of a large crowd of outsiders from as far away as Portland and Boise. The locals resent the intrusion of these strangers. Mag proves to be as good at growing plants as Harold is at fixing engines, but folks suspect her real profit comes from growing pot. She tries to dispel the suspicion, but the rumors persist, especially when she makes friends with Sylvia, a red wigged, miniskirted, sixty-year-old widow known for flaunting what the locals think is proper. Sylvia and Mag build the poets' magic sanctuaries, places of refuge hidden in the woods behind the Browns' house, where they can share their poems without fear of criticism. When Harold's art crowd discovers them, they become as big an attraction as his sculptures. As the sanctuaries grow in number and popularity, the locals' concerns about them multiply. Besides Sylvia, the Browns have only two other close friends, their nearest neighbors, sixty-year-old Whitey and his ninety-year-old mother, Frieda. Harold and Magdalena help them during calving season when Frieda gets sick, and Whitey responds to their kindness with enduring loyalty. Frieda revels in the freedom she finds hanging out in the poets' magic sanctuaries and begins a belated rebellion. Magdalena and Joe take turns telling the story of the Browns' move to Halfway. In the course of the narration they must decide what is important and be brave enough to act on their decisions.
About the Author: Dana was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in Lombard, a suburb. She currently lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her cat Daisy, her dog Hank, and her four chickens. She has lived in various places throughout the state in both rural and urban settings. Her son, Keith, teaches art, and her daughter-in-law, Alissa, is a cartographer. She has two granddaughters, Dahlia and Hazel. She taught special education for over thirty years. For the most part, her students were at risk high school age youth, mostly boys, whose troubled lives inspired two novels. She has also written three novels and a collection of short stories about relationships and other contemporary issues. Dana trail-runs at least five times a week. In the winter she cross country skis, and in the summer she backpacks the wilderness of the Cascades. She's an avid gardener. Her other artistic outlets are drawing and wood carving.