Because Schlick focuses on her own experiences, her work is markedly different from ethnographies and scholarly studies. Written in a conversational tone and organized both chronologically and thematically, this memoir is a touching and accessible work about one woman's experience of finding a place to call home.
* Pacific Northwest Quarterly *
[Schlick] draws us in with a midwestern appreciation for nature, culture, and human relationships. Her narrative resonates with the voices of the many West Coast indigenous friends she has made over the years as she attended weddings and funerals and as she learned to weave bags with bear grass and cornhusks.
* Minnesota History *
Coming to Stay is a worthwhile read. It flavors ordinary texts with real human concerns, interpretations, and the constant wonder of living with another culture. It is one of those books that, if read for pleasure, the reader will be carried along in complete enjoyment. If used as an aid in teaching, it is a wonderful guide of example and personal accounting. Perhaps the book's best use is as a guide to relationship training through an understanding of human interaction and deference to difference.
* Association of Pacific Coast Geographers *
Coming to Stay can be read as a personal memoir, a well-told tale of an interesting life. Or it can be read as a realistic report on the modern Plateau people of the Northwest. Either way, it is well worth the reading, a bit like sitting down with a cup of coffee across the kitchen table from a treasured, literate friend who has an eye for detail and a good supply of empathy.
* Oregon Historical Quarterly *
At its heart, Coming to Stay is about Schlick herself.. She gives the reader a look deep into her own heart in times of joy and happiness and in times of great sadness.
* East Oregonian *
The experiences Schlick describes represent the journey of a family as well as that of a country struggling to respect the land rights and traditions of American Indians.
* HistoryLink.org *
