Jan 30th, 2023 - Bookshop Santa Cruz

FREE IN-STORE EVENT: Local author Wallace J. Nichols will share his very special book, Dear Wild Child: You Carry Your Home Inside You, which was written with his daughter Wallace and inspired by the CZU Lightning Complex fires of 2020 that destroyed their family home.

"What a gift. Nichols and his daughter have turned the emotional letter he wrote to her after their family home burned down in the CZU Fire into this special book, celebrating what was built and what will endure. Breckmeyer’s colorful illustrations add reverent intimacy in their many details. While the book’s framework comes from devastating loss, its message of how we create a sense of home and carry it forward is gracious and universal."

—Melinda, Bookshop's head book buyer 

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A story inspired by a letter from a father to his daughter about wildfire, loss, and learning that we carry our homes inside us wherever we go

In the shade of ancient redwood trees, by a creek, not far from the ocean, a father builds a house for his newborn daughter, where she grows up wild and strong in their coastal canyon home. When a wildfire takes back their beloved house, he writes his now-grown daughter a letter telling her it's gone. Inspired by the real letter the author wrote his daughter, this poignant story—written together by father and daughter—joyfully declares that a home is more than just wood and stone; it is made of love and can never be taken away. You carry home with you wherever you go.

Wallace Grayce Nichols is a student of sustainable design, problem solver, and water lover. Dr. Wallace J. Nichols is a marine biologist and loves his daughters very much. Home is the slow coast of Central California. Drew Beckmeyer is a fine artist, illustrator, and elementary school teacher. His home is in California.