Reception & READING, may 9th, tuesday, 6:30 pm, eagle harbor book co., 157 Winslow Way East, Bainbridge Island

THE FLOWER IN THE SKULL, by Kathleen Alcalá
Publisher Raven Chronicles Press
ISBN: 978-1-7354780-3-6
Trade paper, 6x9, Glossy Cover, 176 pages
Price: $17.99, independent bookstores

Join Raven for the Inaugural Publication Event for The Flower in the Skull, a novel by Kathleen Alcalá, new edition from Raven Chronicles Press; Tuesday, May 9, 6:30 pm, Eagle Harbor Book Co., 157 Winslow Way East, Bainbridge Island.

BI resident Jessica Dubey joins Kathleen for a discussion of her work.

Copies of The Flower in the Skull will be available.

Spanning 130 years, The Flower in the Skull opens in the 1870s with Concha, an Ópata Indian woman who has fled to Tucson, where she works as a housekeeper and clings to memories of her old way of life. Her daughter, Rosa, feels the trauma of Concha’s loss but struggles to understand her mother’s culture. The story jumps forward to 1990s Los Angeles, where Shelly, a young Chicana woman, digs through historical archives in search of information about the Ópata people.

Inspired by the author’s research into her own family history, The Flower in the Skull illuminates the importance of a connection to ancestors—a connection that survives colonial violence and generational trauma.

A Bainbridge Island-based writer, Kathleen Alcalá was born in Compton, California, to Mexican parents and grew up in San Bernardino. Her six books include a short story collection, three novels, a book of essays, and The Deepest Roots, a combination memoir and blueprint for environmental sustainability based on life on Bainbridge Island. Kathleen is the co-editor of Weeping Women: La Llorona’s Presence in Modern Latinx and Chicanx Lore. A member of the Ópata Nation, Kathleen makes her home on Suquamish territory.