Nardagani
About the Author
Narda grew up with a father who was a doctor in the military, moving around the U.S. every year and living for two years in Japan. Upon graduating from the University of Washington with a bachelor of arts degree, Narda chose to return to Japan to live and work. After three years, she settled in Idaho. Adventure is a big slice of Narda’s personality, taking her on a lifelong journey to seek the unusual. She’s a successful glassblower, vermicompost expert, avid skier plus snowboarder, and TEDx speaker. She’s the creator of an innovative reading program, which can teach nearly every person to read (Nardagani). Today, she lives in a small mountain town, Ketchum, Idaho, where she runs Nardagani. She learns something every day from her adult children, Sadieanne and Raleigh.
About the Book
This is a true story. From the first sentence, we are in the grip of a narrative that will not let us go. Narda Pitkethly’s brother vanishes amid several clues, in September 2001, near Sun Valley, Idaho. In the search for Jay, the family undertakes extreme measures to find him. This plunges Narda into a prolonged period of searching, not only for her brother, but for inspiration and meaning in her life, which ultimately leads her back to a world that makes sense.
Narda’s journey takes us on a roller coaster of emotional survival, through the chaos of her childhood and adolescence to the liberating adventures of foreign travel in her twenties; from the legacy of addiction and depression to a hard-won life of calm sobriety. Woven throughout are the often-colorful strands of a broken family, shattered relationships, creative inspiration, hope and adventure, resilience and recovery. What she discovers along the way is the brother she loved and lost, and a priceless gift she can offer the world: Nardagani, an innovative reading program for students who struggle to read.
October 3rd, 2001
