My Island: Portraits of Maine Island Children

My Island explores life on three Maine islands North Haven, Islesboro, and Vinalhaven, all sitting in the waters of famed Penobscot Bay as seen through the faces and words of children in the vibrant and deep-rooted year-round and summer communities. The 160-page hardcover book by Camden resident Patrisha McLean features more than 125 duotone portraits that wonderfully capture the spirit, wonder, and mystery of children on Maine s islands. Each picture tells a unique story. As writer Deborah Joy Corey says in the Foreword, McLean's use of light is as organic as her settings, her photographs not re-creating or staging life, but rather sealing it like a poem that can be read again and again. To view the photographs in My Island is to read them, each a captured moment with its own mysterious cadence. The islands themselves create a fascinating backdrop that become part of the story and create a special atmosphere. Islesboro, a narrow island only about fourteen miles long, lies approximately three miles off the coast of Lincolnville and features a year-round population of more than 600 people. Like both Vinalhaven and North Haven, Islesboro supports its own K-12 school system. Vinalhaven, which was settled in 1765 and boasts one of the world s largest and most famous lobstering communities, lies about twelve miles off the coast and sustains a year-round population of about 1,200. North Haven, a stone s throw from Vinalhaven across the Fox Island Thoroughfare, is also about twelve miles from the mainland. Like Vinalhaven, North Haven is served daily by the Maine State Ferry which runs out of the midcoast city of Rockland. During July and August, the populations of all three islands swell dramatically with summer people, many of whom have families that have been visiting for generations. For people familiar with these islands or for those who have never set foot on their shores, McLean s book provides a fascinating glimpse into the rare and wonderful culture of these unique Maine communities.