Beauty splashed everywhere around me

Stars and rain

Smells of woods

I live here!

Gratitude.

— Mary Kelly

So goes one of the selections in the book, “Heart of Vashon: Sharing Our Stories,” a loving tribute to the island told through poems, personal stories, and evocative photographs.

The book, first published in 2019, is based on stories that were solicited by Mary G. L. Shackelford and Shirley Ferris for a community literary performance that took place in 2015. After it hit the shelves in island shops, it sold out quickly.

Now, the islanders who compiled the book, Barbara Gustafson and Laurie Stewart, have reprinted it, and are excited to announce that it will be sold again at Vashon Bookshop, the Vashon Heritage Museum, and The Country Store, and Vashon Pharmacy.

The stories and poems in “Heart of Vashon” detail a wide range of island experiences, including childhood memories, spiritual ponderings, humorous limericks, and contemplative poems.

One island story in the book is by Joy Sherman White and is about her grandfather’s life as a young boy on Vashon in 1887.

Erin Canfield and Tressa Azpiri share memories of their lives as island children, while Katy Jo Steward and Frank Jackson share thoughts on community activism. Photographs by Ray Pfortner share the page with stories about orcas and a deer-shaped pond brightly lit for the holidays.

All of the stories reflect a love for the distinctive place that islanders call home, said Gustafson and Stewart.

There once was an island named Vashon

The residents loved it with passion

As visitors neared

They found it was weird…

In just Vashon’s own homegrown fashion.

— Lynn Walters