Nude Beach Notebook

"In this engaging new memoir, a loose sequel to her earlier Prairie Reunion, Barbara J. Scot explores her reluctance and longing to reconnect with a much-loved brother, lost to alcoholism for thirty years. Scot uses long, meditative walks on the 'clothing optional' beach of the idyllic Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, to explore family responsibility, time' passage, and faith. She weaves entries from her notebook--a record of the island's wildlife, descriptions of the "Odd Ones" she encounters on the beach, and stories about the native people who once lived on the river--with the main…