Synopses & Reviews
"Charlie J. Stephens' tender novel takes a child's perspective on the pains of being poor in rural Oregon. Knowing that children like Smokey are cast as furniture in the house of adult desires, immobile and without needs, A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest begs us to take them seriously."
--FOREWORD REVIEWS
In 1980's Oregon, Smokey is figuring out how to survive childhood with a young mom who is increasingly desperate in her search for love. As their mother's boyfriends come and go, Smokey aches for the comfort and safety their mother can never quite provide. When a dangerous new man moves into the house, Smokey seeks refuge in the nearby forests--finding comfort as they give themselves over to the strength and beauty of the natural world.
Review
"I don't know when I've ever been this excited by a new voice. Smokey, the narrator of Charlie J. Stephens'
A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest, does whatever it takes to stay
alive at a time and place in which the adults can't be relied upon and
plants and animals are the most sustaining guardians. Every moment here
is loving, tough, and incandescent, and I know I'm never going to forget
this book because I'm going to keep coming back to it. It's stunning." PAUL LISICKY,
Later
Review
"At times moody and violent, other times tender and curious, Charlie J. Stephens' debut novel
A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest hits hard; it's a story about anger, about self-discovery, about abuse, about refuge, but ultimately about survival." TOMAS MONIZ, All Friends Are Necessary
Review
"A pulsing novel filled with so much love and tenderness." MORGAN TALTY, Night of the Living Rez
About the Author
Charlie J. Stephens is a queer, non-binary, mixed-race writer
from the Pacific Northwest. Born and raised in Salem, Oregon, and
currently living in Port Orford on the southern Oregon coast, they are
the owner of Sea Wolf Books & Community Writing Center. Charlie's
short fiction has appeared in
Electric Literature,
Best Small Fictions 2020,
New World Writing, and
Original Plumbing (Feminist Press).