Inside Passage - by Keema Waterfield (Paperback)

About the Book

A heartwarming memoir of music, family, and finding home in the Alaskan wilderness. Keema Waterfield recounts her unconventional childhood chasing music with her young mother on the Alaskan folk festival circuit. With two siblings in tow, they navigate life on the road, sharing a tent with instruments, a revolving cast of characters, and the ever-p

Book Synopsis

A heartwarming memoir of music, family, and finding home in the Alaskan wilderness.

Keema Waterfield recounts her unconventional childhood chasing music with her young mother on the Alaskan folk festival circuit. With two siblings in tow, they navigate life on the road, sharing a tent with instruments, a revolving cast of characters, and the ever-present yearning for stability.

Inside Passage explores Keema's journey to understand her absent father and her complex relationship with her mother. Through hardship and heartache, she discovers the power of art, the resilience of family, and the true meaning of home amidst the stunning landscapes of Alaska. Perfect for readers who enjoy memoirs about strong women, unique families, and the search for belonging.

Review Quotes

"With humor and great empathy, Waterfield renders her childhood as the daughter as a peripatetic musician in raw Alaskan country, surrounded by a cast of characters both compelling and flawed. This is a world that offers equal parts uncertain protection and aching beauty, and from that fire Waterfield has forged a shining debut, resonant as song." -Megan Kruse, author of Call Me Home

About the Author

Keema Waterfield was born in a trailer in Anchorage, Alaska the year John Lennon was shot, smallpox was officially eradicated, and the first Iran-Iraq War began. Her award-winning essays have appeared in Brevity, Pithead Chapel, and Redivider, among others. She received her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Montana. She now resides in Missoula, Montana, where she plays music for kicks and occasionally moonlights as a standup comic. She lives with her husband, two children, a bunch of extra instruments she doesn't know how to play, and a revolving cast of quirky animals. She lives and writes on Sélis and Qlispé land. Follow her on Twitter @keemasaurusrex.