"The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above" Summary

A humorous and quirky look at the challenges of growing up as a Native American youth with a strong-willed, eccentric, intelligent Spokane Indian mother who is single, this piece defies the standard short story form yet delivers plenty of sarcasm, wit and compassion. The narrator describes himself as a "pretty-skinny-beautiful" boy who lives with his mother, Estelle, in a rented house in the Ballard section of Seattle where they survive frugally on fruits and vegetables. "I wasn't a vegetarian by choice; I was a vegetarian by economic circumstances." The narrator describes his mother as "super smart" and an assistant to a University of Washington professor who is given to loud public comments at any display of rudeness.

Estelle is described as an early and ardent feminist, but...