Marshall’s best for 2002 includes Earling

Besides being the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s book critic, John Marshall is an author in his own right. His book “Reconciliation Road: A Family Odyssey” tells the story of his estrangement from his grandfather, the noted military historian S.L.A. Marshall, over the Vietnam War.

As a critic, Marshall spends a lot of time reading. So much so, in fact, that he is uniquely qualified to choose what he considers to be “the best Northwest books” of each year.

Marshall’s selections for 2002 include at least one writer with Spokane connections: Debra Magpie Earling, author of the novel “Perma Red.”

As I wrote in a feature story on Earling last June, she was just 15 years old when she dropped out of West Valley High School. Despite this, Earling went on to get both a high school and college degree and is now a professor of creative writing and Native American Studies at the University of Montana.

Life does have happy endings. You just have to know where to look and when to stop.