Description

Charlie J. Stephens tender novel takes a child s perspective on the pains of being poor in rural Oregon. Knowing that children like Smokey are cast as furniture in the house of adult desires, immobile and without needs, A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest begs us to take them seriously.
–FOREWORD REVIEWS

In 1980 s Oregon, Smokey is figuring out how to survive childhood with a young mom who is increasingly desperate in her search for love. As their mother s boyfriends come and go, Smokey aches for the comfort and safety their mother can never quite provide. When a dangerous new man moves into the house, Smokey seeks refuge in the nearby forests–finding comfort as they give themselves over to the strength and beauty of the natural world.