Point of Direction

An Indie Next selection for May 2014 and an Indies Introduce Debut Authors pick

“Point of Direction is a smart, tough, gorgeous novel, written in prose so quietly luminous it seems cut straight out of the Alaska landscape it so brilliantly brings to life. This is a debut to be excited about.—Laird Hunt, author of Kind One, 2013 PEN / Faulkner Award Finalist

“Rachel Weaver’s evocation of isolation in Alaska and in the landscape of the human mind are impressive and spot on. Point of Direction is a fine and compelling read.—Seth Kantner, author of the national bestseller, Ordinary Wolves

“A lighthouse on an island off the coast of Alaska. A couple together on that island, each alone with the losses that haunt them. Rachel Weaver’s Point of Direction beautifully explores love, loss, and the mysteries of memory, all set in an Alaska that stuns the senses.”—William Haywood Henderson, author of Augusta Locke

Hitchhiking her way through Alaska, a young woman named Anna is picked up by Kyle, a fisherman. Anna and Kyle quickly fall for each other, as they are both adventurous, fiercely independent, and in love with the raw beauty and solitude of Alaska. To cement their relationship, they agree to become caretakers of a remote lighthouse perched on a small rock in the middle of a deep channel—a place that has been uninhabited since the last caretaker mysteriously disappeared two decades ago. What seems the perfect adventure for these two quickly unravels, as closely-held secrets pull them apart, and the surrounding waters threaten uncertain danger. A psychological thriller set against the rugged landscape of coastal Alaska, Point of Direction is an exquisite literary debut.

Rachel Weaver holds an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University. Her work has been published in The Gettysburg Review and the Blue Mesa Review. She has also worked for the Forest Service in Alaska studying songbirds, raptors, and black and brown bears. Rachel currently lives in Colorado.