La Finca: Love, Loss, and Laundry on a Tiny Puerto Rican Island

Summary

Winner, 2022 PNWA Nancy Pearl Award for Memoir! At age forty, Parker surrendered to her Swept Away meets Swiss Family Robinson fantasy of owning an inn in Latin America, far from her home in the Pacific Northwest. For the next twenty-plus years Parker ran La Finca Caribe, an eco-lodge in Vieques, Puerto Rico. What started as a "half-baked duct-taped dream" grew into an acclaimed, rustic inn, frequented by guests from around the world. Sketchbook in hand, Parker chronicled her daily adventures in getting to know the land, culture and herself. La Finca is a lively memoir about a woman creating a new life amid countless challenges, including hurricanes that led her to reconsider everything. It is a story about trusting oneself, self-discovery, accepting disappointment and loss, and falling in love with a place.