Heather Lende, whose memoirs chronicle life in Haines, is named Alaska State Writer Laureate Author: Anchorage Daily News Print article Author Heather Lende, who gained national recognition for memoirs of her life in Haines, has been selected to be Alaska State Writer Laureate for 2021-2023. Lende’s best-selling 2006 debut, “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska,” chronicled her life in Haines and work writing obituaries for The Chilkat Valley News, her local newspaper. Lende followed that with “Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs” (2011) and “Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer” (2015).