About the Book

Product Details:

Title:            Growing Pains: A Childhood on Bear Creek

Author:        Ethel Plaep Rieken

ISBN:           0-9740348-2-7

SRP:             $23

Format:        Paperback, 140pp

Book Size:    8” tall, 10.5” wide, 0.4” spine width

Pub. Date:    December 2004

Publisher:     Special Editions – Customized Biographies, Beaverton, Oregon

Categories:    Non-fiction, Memoir, History, Family, Pacific Northwest

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Growing Pains: A Childhood on Bear Creek—a memoir by 80-year-old Ethel Plaep Rieken about growing up in a farming community on the Oregon Coast.

Rieken, known as Edie to Portland friends and family, chronicles the stories and images of her youth in Growing Pains: A Childhood on Bear Creek. It is composed of vignettes that take readers back to days of living and farming without electricity, being educated in a one-room schoolhouse, and coming of age in the 1930s. Rieken’s artful word crafting breathes life into a bygone era, helping readers share the excitement of the technical marvels of her time:  the first car ride in an open-top Overland touring car, early flight with a biplane landing on the beach, and the wonders of radio that brought neighbors together after evening chores.

Rieken also masters the ability to tap into readers’ emotions, sharing her sadness when spirits are crushed by hurtful acts or when she learns about death at a young age. Her graphic images of the uncertainties of childhood, education in and outside of the schoolroom and the beauty of nature that surrounds their farm and community, brings smiles to readers young and old. In addition to stories, poems, lists and even her German mother’s meatball recipe, Rieken includes 150 images of vintage memorabilia, family photos and drawings that further illustrate her stories. Some of the drawings were custom designed for the book by Rieken's 89-year-old sister. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the soul.