#eagle tree

bald eagle)Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle)

The Eagle Tree

New review of The Eagle Tree from South African writer Donvé Lee.

When this tender complex story found me, I was steeped in pandemic misery, lamenting the suicidal trajectory humanity seems intent on following. The Eagle Tree, told in the voice of a fourteen-year-old autistic boy, restored my faith in the world.

Peter March Wong loves trees. He is in love with them. He wants to be a tree. He lives in the richly forested Pacific North West, and his head is filled with a massive archive of facts about trees – their names, growth patterns, sizes, shapes, textures and so much more. He climbs on average 5.6 trees a day. Trees calm him down. They make him feel safe. Despite the fact that he sometimes falls and lands up in hospital and the state wants to take him away from his mother if she can’t prevent him from getting hurt. His passion for trees is so great that he is prepared to risk his life to save the giant Eagle Tree, an ancient Ponderosa Pine that is about to be cut down by developers. What fascinated me most about this book was the way author Ned Hayes managed to invoke the reader’s empathy for this unlikely hero. I was moved to tears at times. How do you express emotion when writing in the voice of someone whose unique way of seeing the world prevents him from expressing, processing or even describing emotion? As it turns out, with enormous skill. With gorgeous sensuous descriptions. With the occasional dialogue between concerned family members and teachers. With equal amounts of simplicity and depth.

This book taught me so much about trees, too much really, and reminded me of the interconnectedness of all things – people, nature, family, community. But what I valued most was the insight I gained into the mind of someone who sees things from a totally different perspective to mine, who processes the world through facts not feelings yet remains deeply, exquisitely human. By the end of the book, I was totally in love with this brave young man, humbled and inspired by his unyielding determination to make a difference despite enormous odds. I was also struck by the fact that his particular ‘disabilities’ were in the end his strengths, not his liabilities. Lastly, I was reminded that stories have the power to change the world.

Perhaps the planet will survive after all.

READ THE BOOK: The Eagle Tree.com

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THE EAGLE TREE  Kindle Edition – on sale for $0.99 all through April.

National bestseller, nominated for numerous awards, and listed as one of the Top 5 Books on the Autistic experience. Buy THE EAGLE TREE at indie bookstores,  Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

          [/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Steve Silberman” job_title=”New York Times bestselling author of Neurotribes” background_layout=”light” quote_icon_color=”#1aa845″ quote_icon_background_color=”#dbdbdb” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ body_font=”||||||||” max_width=”85%” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_module=”2437″ saved_tabs=”all”]

“The Eagle Tree is a gorgeously written novel that features one of the most accurate, finely drawn and memorable autistic protagonists in literature. The hero of the book is like a 14-year-old Walt Whitman with autism. Credible, authentic, powerful.”

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Fourteen-year-old March Wong knows everything there is to know about trees. They are his passion and his obsession, even after his recent fall—and despite social services’ threat to take him away from his mother if she doesn’t keep him out of their branches.

But the young autistic boy just cannot resist the captivating pull of the Pacific Northwest’s lush forests just outside his backdoor.

One day, March is devastated to learn that the Eagle Tree—a monolithic Ponderosa pine near his home in Olympia—is slated to be cut down by developers. Now, he will do anything in his power to save this beloved tree, including enlisting unlikely support from relatives, classmates, and even his bitter neighbor. In taking a stand, March will come face-to-face with some frightening possibilities: Even if he manages to save the Eagle Tree, is he risking himself and his mother to do it?

Intertwining themes of humanity and ecology, The Eagle Tree eloquently explores what it means to be a part of a family, a society, and the natural world that surrounds and connects us.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”3.0.89″ author=”Rob Natiuk” job_title=”Amazon Top 500 Reviewer” url_new_window=”off” quote_icon=”on” use_background_color=”on” quote_icon_background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_layout=”light”]

“I now better understand the autistic child–more sensitive to that child’s life–physical, mental, family, spiritual. That’s why for me this is a ‘wonder book!’ I felt myself resonating with this 14-year-old boy named ‘March.’ He seeks meaning and normalcy in what to him is an estranged world. As the book’s narrator, March knows trees intimately and shares inner feelings and straight facts with the reader – a gripping mixture! I grew to love March and rejoiced with his victories! ”

[/et_pb_testimonial][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_testimonial author=”Temple Grandin” job_title=”New York Times bestselling author of Emergence” background_layout=”light” quote_icon_color=”#189118″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ededed” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ body_font=”||||||||” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_module=”2438″ saved_tabs=”all”]

“Every human experience is unique, but The Eagle Tree provides insight into one distinctive and uniquely important perspective. The Eagle Tree seems very authentic to me.”

[/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”3.0.89″ author=”Susan Senator” job_title=”New York Times featured author of Making Peace with Autism and Autism Adulthood” url_new_window=”off” quote_icon=”on” use_background_color=”on” quote_icon_background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_layout=”light”]

“The Eagle Tree portrays a teenager that is believable and lovable. March, the main character, is a living, breathing person with significant challenges who is so realistic I feel I know him. I have not enjoyed an autistic novel as much since The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. The Eagle Tree’s beautifully written narrator is a real joy—March Wong is an unexpected leader, who remains true to himself and prevails. The Eagle Tree will leave an indelible mark on your heart.”

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“A wonderful read! To say that the narrator’s mind is unusual would not be correct. His mind is simply and marvelously unique like yours and mine. Or rather, like yours and mine couldbe if we lifted the eyes of our hope to the crowns of trees and listened to the voice of our neglected spirit. The Eagle Tree will remind of the beauty and truth you may have forgotten.”

[/et_pb_testimonial][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”3.0.89″ author=”Carmen Johnson” job_title=”Editor, Little A” url_new_window=”off” quote_icon=”on” use_background_color=”on” quote_icon_background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_layout=”light” border_width_all=”1px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″]

“To see the world through the eyes of someone else is one of reading’s greatest powers. The Eagle Tree carried me, with sensitivity and grace, into the mind of an autistic teenage boy—one who would rather climb tall trees than meet his mother’s gaze.

In this unconventional and uplifting story, the young narrator learns that a beloved ponderosa pine near his Olympia, Washington, home will be cut down. Panicked, he gathers an unlikely group of allies to save it from destruction. He must overcome numerous barriers to convince his mother, his uncle, a grumpy neighbor, and reluctant politicians to help him with his fight. I found myself moved by the boy’s determination and awed by his resourcefulness.

I can’t recall a story that pulled me so deeply into the inner workings of its protagonist’s extraordinary mind. But the novel does more than capture perfectly the unexpected and powerful voice of autism. The Eagle Tree also explores what it means to be part of a family and connected through our hearts and minds to the natural world that surrounds us.”

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Buy THE EAGLE TREE at indie bookstores,  Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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New Book Review by Dragonfly.Eco: an exploration of eco-fiction

The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes (Little A, 2016) Young adult contemporary fiction Review by Kimberly Christensen

To say that fourteen-year-old March Wong loves trees is an understatement. He climbs multiple trees per day and can cite endless amount of information about trees, from information about their species to how trees work to protect the environment.

March is also autistic and struggles to understand why other people don’t care as deeply about trees as he does. He shares his wealth of tree-knowledge in order to build connections with those around him, but that information is often not met with enthusiasm or reciprocation by those around him. Every time someone fails to respond with interest to March’s tree facts, his aversion for social interactions is reinforced.

In Olympia, Washington, where March resides, there is an abundance of trees to explore. After moving to a new neighborhood, March discovers an old growth tree called The Eagle Tree, which hosts nesting bald eagles each spring. Once he sees the tree, March must climb it, even though his mother forbids it because March has a history of falling out of trees.

His mother’s caution does not dissuade March, who figures out how to get to the tree on his own. However, he discovers that the land that the tree sits on had been sold and may be developed. This news is so upsetting to March that it causes some amount of regression in the progress he has made with impulse control and behavioral modifications. That regression has the potential to impact his future, as a previous incident resulted in March being hospitalized. Due to that incident, his single-mother’s ability to care for March is being investigated by Child Protective Services, which might decide to remove March from his home.

March figures out that he can advocate for the protection of the tree and receives support to do so. This advocacy challenges him to his core, yet also provides him to opportunity to connect with other people who loves trees – and with people who don’t necessarily love trees but have their own gifts to offer if March can learn to receive them. This growth helps the child services investigation to resolve in a way that’s positive for March and his mother.

The Eagle Tree is really a devotional to trees and their importance to our planet. It is full of amazing information about trees and demonstrates a deep understanding of their foundational importance to life. While March’s story is interesting and provides a well-written opportunity to explore a neuro-atypical experience of environmental activism, the first-person point-of-view, limits the reader’s ability to get emotionally invested in the story. March doesn’t care about many people in a traditional sense, so there’s almost no character development outside of March. Everyone besides March feels very peripheral to the story, and March himself is not easy to root for because he is so analytical. There are moments of emotional growth – such as his friendship with a classmate called Stig – that are lovely, but these are too few and far between.

Additionally, there’s a fair bit of Christianity in the book. While it’s of a progressive nature and the pastor is a kind and sympathetic character, it did take up a lot of room on the page which didn’t appeal to me, as a non-Christian. Some readers may feel similarly about the sheer volume of tree facts, which the book is loaded with.

New Book Review by Dragonfly.Eco: an exploration of eco-fiction

About Kimberly Christensen

Kimberly Christensen never strays far from the written word, whether she’s penning fictional worlds, engrossed in a book, or hand-lettering protest signs. She lives with her husband, children, dog, 40,000 honeybees and a mischievous house rabbit in Seattle. You can read her story “Still Waters” at https://www.modernliterature.org/2018/02/08/still-waters-by-kimberly-christensen/.

View all posts by Kimberly Christensen

Highlights: Ned Hayes

Ned Hayes was a part-time author of historical fiction when he got the idea for The Eagle Tree. The novel was so different from his previous work that he feared nobody but him would like it.

He decided to submit the novel to Kindle Scout – a place where authors can share their never-before-published books, and customers can nominate their favorites to be published.

Support from Kindle Scout readers helped The Eagle Tree land a publishing deal with Amazon Publishing’s literary imprint, Little A, and a bigger audience than Ned has ever reached before.

Ned Hayes wrote a novel so far outside his comfort zone that he wondered if anyone would enjoy it. Kindle Scout readers answered with a resounding “yes.”

New characters often visit novelist Ned Hayes uninvited, so it wasn’t all that strange a few years back when the voice of a fictional teenage boy kept percolating in the back of his mind. Then things got more intense: “A friend of mine took me to this amazing old-growth tree, and the first lines of the story, where the boy saw the Eagle Tree and wanted to climb it, just rose up in me. I had to write the story down. I felt kind of carried away by a rushing stream, and I didn’t know where it was really taking me.”

I felt like I’d given someone a voice who didn’t have one. — Ned Hayes

The rushing stream carried Ned to The Eagle Tree, a novel unlike anything he’d ever written. He was a published author of historical fiction, and – even though writing novels wasn’t his full-time job, and his books had never reached massive numbers of readers – his work had earned him representation by an established literary agent. But far from being the historical fiction the agent expected, The Eagle Tree was set in modern times, and that percolating voice in Ned’s head turned out to belong to a teenage boy diagnosed with autism. In the novel, young March Wong climbs dangerously high into Washington’s forests to chase his passion for learning all about trees.

“When I first gave the manuscript to my agent, she read it through and said, ‘Well, this is a really different kind of book, and I’m not sure I can sell this.’,” Ned says.

Ned didn’t push. He had his own doubts. “I was concerned that maybe it was a book that I had written just for my own pleasure and that I would be the only reader that really enjoyed it.”

Ned knew a way to test whether the novel would ever speak to anyone but him. As a reader, he’d been participating in Kindle Scout, where authors can submit their never-before-published books. Readers see excerpts from each book, and they can nominate their favorites to receive a publishing contract from Amazon. Ned submitted The Eagle Tree and waited to see if anyone would nominate it. He was about to be carried away by another rushing stream.

“One of the earliest comments I received,” Ned starts to say, surprising himself by choking up, “was from somebody who had a family member who was on the autism spectrum. They said that this book gave them insight into their family member in a way that they never expected, and it changed their entire relationship. And I just felt really moved by that. Because I felt like I’d given someone a voice who didn’t have one.”

The response from Scout users was overwhelming. The Kindle Scout team also saw serious potential in Ned’s work and shared his manuscript with Carmen Johnson, an editor at Amazon Publishing’s Little A imprint. Carmen loved it. She worked with Ned to release Kindle, paperback, and audiobook versions of The Eagle Tree. Thinking back to the exciting weeks when everything came together, Ned says, “Amazon really ended up opening a huge number of doors for me.”

More than 75,000 readers later, the character of March Wong continues to connect with people. Steve Silberman, whose NeuroTribes appeared on many of the most prestigious lists of the best books of 2015, praised Ned’s “gorgeously written” book for featuring “one of the most accurate, finely drawn and memorable autistic protagonists I’ve come across in literature.”

The success of The Eagle Tree has opened new doors for Ned. He’s collaborating with fellow artists on a graphic novel and an independent film based on the book. He’s also using the bulk of his book royalties to launch OLY ARTS, an arts and culture magazine with print, online, and mobile app editions. He says he wants to “spread the word about the wonderful artists, actors, writers and musicians in the Olympia area who don’t have the megaphone they need to earn a living wage for the amazing work they do.”

The first OLY ARTS issue’s 10,000 copies were supposed to last 12 weeks. “It sold out in two-and-a-half weeks flat,” Ned says beaming. “So there’s a lot of interest and excitement, and it’s fantastic to know that readers of The Eagle Tree made this all possible.”

Learn more about Ned’s novel

Mountain Wheelchair Wiring

Put Simply

In simple terms, these components add some additional protection into the circuitry and much to Ada’s delight, the wheelchair now has a key ignition switch.

Detailed Version

In more detail, each controller should draw a maximum of 15 amps. With 6 controllers, that’s a peak of 90a (15 * 6). So the first component on the positive wire is a heavy duty 200a fuse.

The next component is the big red emergency stop key switch. This acts as a master switch and completely disconnects the battery.

Next is a keyed ignition switch which goes to the power switch on the controller. Although this is still operating at 48v, it only draws a maximum of 40ma so it is much easier to route cable so that the key is somewhere accessible. This also has an inline 2a fuse.

After this is a 200a main contactor. The key switch closes the contactor at which point the large capacitors in the controller draw a substantial amount of current. To prevent the contactor from welding closed as a result of arcing, there is a 1k Ohm 10w resistor across the main contacts. Because this resistor is in place, it meant that the controller was always connected to the battery (regardless of whether the contactor was closed or not), thus draining the battery. Hence the need for the big red eliminator.

The plan is to have one key ignition and one contactor to supply power to all six controllers.

Although not shown here, I’ve also successfully wired a thermistor inside the motor housing. The manufacturers have suggested a theoretical max operating temp of 120℃ for the motor. To allow some wiggle room, the controller will cut power to the motors if they reach 90℃.

What’s Next?

The next job in terms of wiring is to include a watt meter. To this end, I’ve purchased a really cool Eagle Tree E-Logger. Not only does it monitor and record power consumption, temperature, speed and altitude, but also plots all of this into graphs and with an additional GPS unit, can display all of this data alongside a satellite map of the route you’ve taken. This sounds extremely useful because it will allow me to see where spikes in temperature and power consumption have occurred, as well as providing the tools I need to make far more accurate estimations of battery capacity needs. Although it’s intended for radio controlled aeroplanes, it’s good for up to 80v and 150a so should be perfect for the mountain wheelchair.

Eagle Tree E-Logger V4

Middle Fork

Over the holiday break, my family had the great pleasure of visiting the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) again. Years ago, I met Bill Gates at a private gathering here, and I’ve had many wonderful experiences at SAM. This time, I didn’t meet any celebrities, but instead I was enthralled with the enormous and wonderful tree sculpture that fills the ceiling of the lobby. I feel that March Wong from my novel THE EAGLE TREE would have been even more enthralled and joyous at the vast tree that filled the air of SAM.

I’d like you to enjoy this tree as well, so I’ve created a bit of a photo-essay here by using photos of the tree sculpture here, as well as more details on the sculptor and the process that created this tree, drawn from SAM’s page on the artwork which is by artist John Grade and entitled “Middle Fork”. And interspersed are several relevant quotes from THE EAGLE TREE.  Enjoy!

John Grade’s large-scale sculpture, Middle Fork, echoes the contours of a 140-year-old western hemlock tree located in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle.

Ahead of me, I saw a Western Hemlock. I called out to it its true name too — “Tsuga heterophylla.” Then I jumped up on top of an ancient giant nurse log, and I could look across a small meadow at a field of young trees. This was a clear-cut, and the trees were growing back, but the cut-over had probably been there since the time I was born. I looked across the growing trees, and I could see the tips of some of them droop. The drooping ones were Western Hemlocks. — The Eagle Tree

Beginning by making a full plaster cast of the living tree, the artist and a cadre of volunteers used this mold to recreate the tree’s form out of thousands of pieces of reclaimed old-growth cedar. Middle Fork was conceived and fabricated at MadArt Studio and made its Seattle debut there in January 2015. The original work was 40-feet long and will more than double in length for its installation.

At forty feet, the sky is entirely black, but now starlight bleeds faintly down into the forest from between rushing gray clouds. The wind is picking up as well. I can feel it catch at my coat as I twist above the branches. Along with the wind pushing me, it also pushes the branches I am relying on, in one direction or another, back and forth. That means that when I reach out with the clear memory map I have kept from the ground, the limbs I reach for have moved several inches in the wind to the right or the left, so I must fumble in the air before I can grip them again. — The Eagle Tree

About the Artist

Grade’s work is exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and outdoors in urban spaces and nature. His projects are designed to change over time and often involve collaboration with large groups of people. He lives and works in Seattle.

  THE EAGLE TREE was published by Little A. The book sold over 80,000 copies to become a national bestseller and was listed in 2016 as one of Top 5 Books on the Autistic experience. Buy THE EAGLE TREE at indie bookstores,  Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The wonderful owner of my local bookstore Browsers Bookstore (Andrea Griffith) here in Olympia, Washington has volunteered to fill orders for signed, personalized editions of my novels for the holidays. I get down to Browsers at least once a week, so I’ll drop in regularly between now and Christmas to sign and personalize book orders you place with Browsers for The Eagle Tree, Sinful Folk or other books. Books make fabulous gifts, and Browsers can ship anywhere!

Here’s the page on Browsers’ website. To order a signed personalized book, call Andrea at 1-360-357-7462 or email her at [email protected]

(Fun Fact: my first reading for The Eagle Tree was at Browsers back in spring 2016!)

THE EAGLE TREE Ned Hayes