Tessa's Dance - Walker, David Edward

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Résumé :
Extremely Well-Written - Indian Country Today. WINNER, BRONZE MEDAL, 2013 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS. Volume I of two in the Medicine Valley Series. A strong-hearted Yakama Indian girl and a mixed blood psychologist ride a wild horse past methamphetamine and gang-violence to discover friendship, healing, and the importance of tradition. The fragile bond between Tessa Miyanashatawit, a fifteen-year-old Yakama girl and psychologist Dr. Ret Barlow has begun to heal both of them. Things fall apart when Tessa is arrested for alcohol abuse. Barlow forces her into treatment, and she vows never to speak to him again. With the support of Auntie Elisi and grandfather Arnold's gift of ?mashitum, a wild horse, Barlow might be able to help Tessa again- that is, as long as her gang-involved boyfriend, Parker Heslah, doesn't succeed in scaring him off. Parker and his crew have been running guns for 'Cowboy' Jack Brie, her mother's ex-boyfriend, and Tessa's childhood abuser. Soon Brie reenters Tessa's world, threatening her family, especially baby half-sister, Ce Ce. Now Barlow's trying to step in, unaware that Brie sees him coming. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT 'SIGNAL PEAK', SEQUEL TO TESSA'S DANCE-NOW AVAILABLE!

Biographie:
'Tessa's Dance,' Volume I in the Medicine Valley Series, is the first of David Edward Walker's novels, and garnered a Bronze Medal from the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards for Multicultural/Young Adult Fiction. 'Signal Peak', Volume II in the series, was released in November, 2013, and initial reaction has been resoundingly positive. David grew up in the Detroit area, working as a cab driver, record store clerk, and order taker in a flavor factory. He earned a doctorate degree at University of Detroit in 1992 and is a licensed psychologist. In 2000, David moved with his family to central Washington to work with the Indian Health Service. He continues to consult with the 14 Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. A scholar, passionate speaker, and fierce critic of mental health practices in Indian Country, he contributed a chapter entitled ADHD as the new 'feeblemindedness' of American Indian children for 'Critical New Perspectives on ADHD' (Routledge) which won the 2006 NASAN Academic Book Award in the UK. His 2012 article with Albert Galves exposed the pseudoscience of ADHD for readers of 'Ethical Human Psychology & Psychiatry' journal. David's new chapter tracing the destructive legacy of 'race mental hygiene' in Indian Country is currently in peer review for an upcoming book on indigenous historical trauma being prepared for Arizona State University. David is also a poet and singer-songwriter. In the 1990s, he toured under the pseudonym 'David Folks,' releasing two CDs, 'Roadside Park' and 'Refusing to View', and garnering college airplay across the U.S.. He worked with the Dreamcatchers arts project to benefit Native American causes, and shared the stage with such luminaries as Rodney Crowell, Richie Havens, and Richard Shindell. His songs draw his audience into a warm space of feeling and introspection, which he supports with elegant moral ambition, according to 'Music Hound Guide to Folk Music'. He released a third CD, the Bah?'i-inspired disc, 'Summoning the Possible, in 2010 under the pseudonym 'David Folks Walker.' David claims his 'mixed-blood' Missouri Cherokee heritage through Barlow, Gibson, and Alexander families. He currently lives with his family in the International District of Seattle. You can visit his external website at www.tessasdance.com.