The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Should a person become a parent? More specifically, should a woman become a mom? Such questions weren’t always asked in earlier generations; people simply had kids. No longer taken for granted, these decisions inform the twists and turns of a contemporary life path.

As many women do, Jackie Shannon Hollis faced losing her love relationship if she chose to prioritize having children. In her book “This Particular Happiness: A Childless Love Story,” Hollis explores her journey. She will read from the book and sign copies at her in-store appearance at Paulina Springs Books this Saturday, November 16, at 6:30 p.m.

The memoir offers stories of Hollis’ childhood on her family’s historic ranch in Condon in the 1960s. Her adult life takes her to Eugene and Portland, where she focuses on college and career. The reader follows Hollis through a tumultuous time in society, when gender roles began to change fast — changes that caused pain and confusion while opening up new opportunities and possibilities.

Throughout the book, Hollis’ life interweaves with the lives of her friends and family, most of whom go on to have children.

“As a childless woman surrounded by children (with over 40 nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and -nephews), Jackie believes we all have an important role in supporting the children in our lives,” according to a publisher’s statement.

Hollis’ short stories and essays have been published in The Sun, Slice, Inkwell, High Desert Journal, VoiceCatcher, Nailed, Rosebud, and other publications.

She said of Sisters Country: “The landscape and wide-open skies around Sisters feel like home for me. I love the town, which has such a sense of community, and I’m lucky to have family there. Plus, Sisters has Paulina Springs Books which offers something for every reader.”

Paulina Springs Books is located at 252 W. Hood Ave. in Sisters. More information is available at http://www.forestavenuepress.com/.