'The Highest Tide,' revisited

Welcome to Sound Words, my new column focused on the literary world of Thurston County.  Taking inspiration from the phrase,“A rising tide lifts all boats,” its focus will be on the local writing community, spotlighting writers, small presses, book artists, poets, storytellers of all types.

There’s so much this community is doing, and I hope to highlight those voices/places/stories that frequently get overlooked.  So if you’ve got an event, a book coming out, run a small press, got your chapbook accepted, printed a zine, or anything that would be considered literary, reach out to me!  I’m interested in hearing from you!

Introducing myself

I’m a native Olympian, having been born in the old St. Peter Hospital on the west side.  I grew up in the Gate area, west of Rochester in Thurston County, moved to Tumwater around middle school age, and graduated from Tumwater High School. I spent 20 years on the Oregon Coast, and came home in 2022.  I’ve been in love with books and writing since I was very young and am currently in the process of applying to MFA programs.  I’ve been a bookseller for over twenty years, and currently sell online.  I’m interested in celebrating how we tell our stories, why we do, and how our community can support each other in that process.

'The Highest Tide'

For this initial column, I will highlight one of the best-known books from and about this area, "The Highest Tide," written by Jim Lynch. If you’re looking for a young adult coming-of-age story set in Thurston County, this book should be on your list.  It was published nearly 20 years ago and continues to be relevant and engaging.

Set on the Mud Bay Flats, Jim Lynch’s intimate knowledge of the marine life provides a memorable backdrop to the journeys his characters take. Miles O’Malley is a 13-year-old boy who can’t sleep, reads incessantly, and is in love with the marine animals in the Mud Bay Flats, plus the girl next door.  When he discovers a rare giant squid out on the sound in the middle of the night, chaos descends in the form of cultish followers, scientists and reporters.  His parents quarreling and his home life threatening to implode, Miles finds comfort and solace out on the moonlit water.  As the highest tide of the year approaches, will he survive the pressures of all this attention? Will there be more discoveries?  Will the girl notice him?

Lynch writes lyrically and beautifully, and his characters are funny and authentic. The book is a study on Puget Sound marine life told through the story of a boy trying to figure out his place in the world. When I first read it, I remember looking up all the animals being described and being entranced by their beauty. It opened my eyes to a world I knew little about.

The themes of what love is, how we maintain it and express it wind through the book.  Miles begins to understand that what we choose to take care of and how we do that is a complicated thing and part of finding your way in the world.  Jim Lynch lived and sailed on the South Puget Sound, and it shows in his vivid descriptions of life here.  It’s funny, beautiful, sad and exhilarating to read.

Published in 2005, The Highest Tide won the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award and has been translated into ten languages and adapted to the stage, where it was performed by Book-it Theater in the spring of 2008.  It’s available at Browsers Books, Orca Books, and Last Word.  You can also find it at the Timberland library. Give it a try.

What’s next

Upcoming columns will feature Steven Hendricks’ and Ansley Clark’s new books, and the upcoming 2024 Washington State Book Awards.  I’ll be talking with the Puget Sound Book Artists about their 13th Annual Exhibition, which will be shown at the Evergreen State College from September 29-December 20.