Cinnamon's Swan Island

Sights and sounds come alive via the story of how love, patience, and living on a magical island cured a child diagnosed as terminal. Faced with the grim diagnosis at age three, Cinnamon learns to read, journal, and write her own stories about island life. A patient grandmother homeschooled her on days traveling across the river was impossible; her grandfather shared his knowledge of managing the deer herd and other wildlife on the freshwater island. Trips down the Perkins Highway, the sole dirt road splitting the island in half, allowed daily opportunities to feed deer directly out of the truck window. Cinnamon imagined solitary games, wrote original stories, and became more vigorous and healthier as months and years passed. Befriending animals was easy when they became comfortable with her scents and habits. As an adult, she kayaks to the island to write while enjoying sitting in the Adirondack chairs provided at the Kennebec Riverside.