Other Projects
I Am Maine
Stories From Smalltown Maine
MEMOIR · NON-FICTION
Heartfelt stories about growing up in the wilderness of Maine. Part memoir, part hyperbole, these stories highlight living life in a small town.
I moved to Maine when I was five. I lived in Brownville Junction with my mother and grandmother while my father traveled the globe with the Marine Corps. When I was ten, my father retired, and we moved to my mother’s ancestral home. I resented my parents for tearing me away from the south.
I spent my summers reading about adventures elsewhere — anyplace but the junction. I hid away in the forest, playing make believe, imagining the world beyond our borders. After graduation, I fled. Free from Maine, I never imagined I’d look back.
Decades later, my mind wanders North to a world I loathed in my youth. Homesick, I’m returning to my roots. I need to understand the impact of a small town on the man I am today.
Hardbound or Paperback
I Am Maine
249 colored pages · Full photography
What is it about a tight-knit community that draws us back? What about the land molds its people? How does our geography and ancestry forge us into the adults we will become? What is in the heart of a Mainer?
Reader Reviews
What People Are Saying
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Dryly humorous in places, touching in others, it made me feel like an old friend I hadn’t heard from in years was catching me up on his life. He writes a mean sentence.
GD Dearborn
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A beautifully written retrospection of growing up in a small Maine town. I. Am. Maine is a full of photos, life lessons and funny, poignant stories of the author’s life, the small town ‘way of life’ and other insights of being ‘from’ a place, but not always feeling like you belong.
C.L. Alden
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I think this is a wonderful and accurate portrayal of what it is actually like growing up in a small town in Maine! Even without looking at the pictures I was able to visualize what the author was seeing and experiencing in each and every moment.
Megan Marsh
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As a lover of Maine, I truly enjoyed the author’s personal stories of growing up in small town Maine. They were real and showed clearly how we are shaped by our surroundings as well as our family relationships.
Toni Garret
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The author is very frank about his life, his culture, and his reaction to certain things. His honesty rings true in every story told. A good book to read, if you want some insight into Maine culture and survival skills.
Goodreads Review
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The author has perfectly captured the feel of life in small-town Maine, and how that shapes a person. A good writer takes us into a world and shows us what matters, and this is effectively done here. Brought back a lot of memories…
Dale T. Phillips