Leaving Yesler

Leaving Yesler is the story of Bobby—a sensitive, biracial teenager searching for his identity and a place of belonging after losing his mother to cancer and older brother in Vietnam. The year is 1968, a politically tumultuous time, particularly for a Puerto Rican and black teenager, who isn’t sure where he fits in the world. We follow Bobby during his last days in the Yesler Terrace housing project in Seattle and on his journey toward a new life as a college student, as he struggles to survive the dangers within the projects and understand the expectations of the outside world. Bobby begins to rely on his mother and brother, hearing their voices and feeling their presence, as he questions and eventually comes to terms with his ethnic identity and sexuality.Ultimately, Leaving Yesler is a poignant coming-of-age story in a part of the Pacific Northwest most readers have never experienced during a time in history few of us understand.