Dawn Karima Pettigrew holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The Ohio State University. She is a member of WordCraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, and the Native American Journalists’ Association. In 2006, she published a second novel, The Marriage of Saints. She co-edited Children Learn What They Read, a book about multiculturalism and spirituality in children's literature. She teaches Native American Studies. |
The Way We Make Sense Young Indiana Redpaint, traded by her father for a rodeo entry fee, flees Oklahoma to be raised by her grandparents in North Carolina. A generation later, her daughter Manna, whose life is deeply marked by her mother’s losses, runss from her own tragic past. In Gallup, New Mexico, she catches up with her destiny—guided by a cast of unforgettable characters: Candy, a two-year old baby girl abandoned by her mother Sugar Begay; Silas Pipe, a Vietnam veteran with a glitzy past who has built an oasis in the desert; J.B., his grass-dancing nephew; and Bill Lawton, a widowed carpenter who can chisel life out of wood.
“…a sparkling, wildly original and inventive novel…Her characters are red, white, black, and brown, but above all they are real.” —David Citino, author of The Book of Appassionata “…Pettigrew weaves poetry and prose in an exquisite and powerful story that moves in time and space, bringing past, present, future, and the dream-time together in the best of written Native literary tradition…a critically important work.” —Lee Francis, National Director, WordCraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers “Dawn Karima Pettigrew…is the writer you will turn to when, once again, you understand that the heart never fits its wanting.” —Lee K. Abbott, author of Wet Places At Noon “I recommend this book to anyone who has a love for stories well told.” —Joseph Bruchac, author of Breaking Silence
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