Two old women : an Alaska legend of betrayal, courage and survival Cover Image

Book

Two old women : an Alaska legend of betrayal, courage and survival / by Velma Wallis ; illustrations by Jim Grant.

Wallis, Velma, (author.). Grant, Jim, 1946- (illustrator.).

Summary:

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine. Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community, and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness, and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).

Record details

ISBN: 9780062244987
ISBN: 0062244981
Physical Description: xvii, 127 pages : illustrations, maps ; 19 cm
Edition: Twentieth anniversary edition.
Publisher: New York : Harper Perennial, 2013.
Copyright: ©1993

Content descriptions

General Note:	"This book was originally published in 1993 by Epicenter Press"--Title page verso. "Tenth anniversary edition published by Perennial in 2004"--Title page verso.
Formatted Contents Note:	Hunger and cold take their toll -- "Let us die trying" -- Recalling old skills -- A painful journey -- Saving a cache of fish -- Sadness among The People -- The stillness is broken -- A new beginning -- About the Gwich'in People.