A Woman’s Life on the Edge of the Sea

Overview

Author, activist, doula, grandmother, and singer of songs in reverence to the Earth, Irene Skyriver was born on the shores of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Her heritage is of Northwest Coastal Native (Tlingit and Makah) and European blood. At twenty-five years old and penniless, she moved to a small island community with her two, soon-to-be three, children. She felt at home in this small community, Lopez Island, on the Salish Sea. In her forty-two years on Lopez Island, she has lived a rich life. Skyriver is a song-keeper for the community and helped establish Winter and Summer Solstice traditions and Passage Rites ceremonies. She and her husband live on a homestead without traditional plumbing—a hand pump at the sink brings fresh spring water—the toilet is a composting outhouse, they eat from her large garden, drink the milk from raised goats, and brew cider from the orchard. In A Woman’s Life on the Edge of the Sea, Skyriver delves deep into her family and heritage and into the richness of nature and Mother Earth.

Reviews

“Skyriver’s poetry is bright, clear, and warm. Topics include her family of origin and also the family that she created, in her community, about the land and beyond that to the Earth and the spirits. There is a cumulative power in her work.” —Laurie Parker, Filmmaker/Writer

“Irene’s poems could not come to us at a better time. They are like old trees in a rising storm, they sing, laugh, and cry. Her heartbreak is like cracking limbs, her courage is a lightning strike, her base is gentle wisdom and love, love love. These are poems for an injured world and for our injured hearts, and we are so fortunate to have such solid words to hold onto.” —Karen Fisher, author of A Sudden Country

Author Biography

A Washington native, Irene Skyriver was born in Port Townsend and raised in the country. She moved with her children and horses to Lopez Island, WA in 1980. Green Writers Press published her first novel, Paddling with Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey, in 2017. Inspired partly by her own spirit of adventure, and partly by the stories of her native coastal ancestors (Tlingit and Makah), the book interweaves the true account of her journey with generational stories handed down and vividly reimagined. Skyriver lives off-the-grid, and spends most of her time growing her garden.