Tessa's Dance

"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 Amashitum, 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