My Abandonment has been chosen by the Oregonian as one of the 2009 Top Ten Northwest Books of the year!

An Indie Next Selection for March 2010.

2010 Alex Award given to best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.

Inspired by a true story and informed by the nature diaries of Opal Whiteley and the travails of Elizabeth Smart, My Abandonment is the completely original story of a remarkable and triumphant transformation. 

Thirteen-year-old Caroline and her father have lived for four years on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, in Forest Park.

He has homeschooled her using encyclopedias and books from the library while also teaching her a rigid code of behavior that enables them to survive in this wilderness.

Yet one small mistake allows the authorities to discover them.

Their forced relocation to a horse farm outside of the city becomes only a brief respite to their deeper flight from a world that can’t understand them.

“Tai Sammons's narration commands attention….Definitely a worthwhile listen.”—AudioFile

“A compelling read; recommended for all fiction collections.—Library Journal (starred review)

“Utterly entrancing….Every step of this narrative…rings true.”—Publishers Weekly

“This beautiful, strange novel takes us into the foreign country where those called homeless are at home; the city is wilderness, and the greater wilderness lies beyond. Fascinating and moving, it tells with great tenderness how human love goes wrong.”—Ursula Le Guin

“Electrically charged, bone deep and tender tale of loss and partial redemption. Surreal, haunting, elegiac.”—James Ellroy