La Finca
Love, Loss, and Laundry on a Tiny Puerto Rican Island
At age forty, Parker surrendered to her Swept Away meets Swiss Family Robinson fantasy of running an inn far from her home in the Pacific Northwest. For the next twenty-plus years Parker operated La Finca Caribe, an eco-lodge in Vieques, Puerto Rico. What started as a rough-and-tumble dream grew into a paradise enjoyed by guests from around the world. Sketchbook in hand, Parker chronicled her daily adventures living with the land. La Finca is a lively graphic memoir about a woman creating a new life amid countless challenges, including hurricanes that led her to reconsider everything. It is a story about trusting oneself, self-discovery, accepting disappointment and loss, and falling in love with a place.
Corky Parker has had a diverse career as the creative director and cofounder of Merwin Creative, a film production company in Seattle; a small-scale sheep farmer; and owner of the eco-lodge La Finca Caribe, on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. She is a graduate of Bennington College. Her work has been covered in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times, Outside, Gourmet, Adventure Travel, and Lonely Planet. She lives in Port Townsend, Washington, and her website is at corkyparker.com.
