Phillip didn't have the picture perfect childhood. His father is in love with the bottle and his mom passed away. When Mount Saint Helen erupts, Philips first thought is to learn everything he can about this massive outburst as he can. The disaster hits home and from that point on he finds himself in situations he never could have fathomed.
      Phillip is one of those characters that feels oh-so-real. He's the type of person that you can relate to and one who you can't help but like right off the bat. I give this book two thumbs up!
      ~ Bridget Hopper


Grey Pine tells the story of Phillip, a young man with an alcoholic father and a mother who died of cancer. The story starts with the Mount Saint Helens eruption and resultant ash fall around the surrounding areas. If you've ever been through the aftermath of a natural disaster, Phillip's account of cleaning up his yard and home will bring those feelings back. I was reminded of the evacuations and devastation left behind after Hurricans Rita and Ike here in Southeast Texas.
      The ash left behind after the volcano eruption reminded me of the scenery in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Along with the natural disaster, Phillip is dealing with severe personal problems, namely depression. Grey Pine is very well executed. I found myself compelled to keep reading, even though the book made me sad at times.
      Grey Pine is a book that will make you think. It made me think about people's prejudices, the differences in medicine now and thirty years ago, parent-child relationships, addiction, and domestic violence. I don't usually read this kind of book (I'm more into escapism reading), but I enjoyed Grey Pine. It reminded me a lot of The Road, in a good way.
      Visit my book blog for more of my reviews: Kelli of I'd So Rather Be Reading


My journey through Grey Pine with Phillip, a struggling young science teacher, was unsettling at times, but hugely rewarding. Winetsky has very effectively interwoven the darkness of mind and spirit that Phillip battles, with Nature's devastation following the eruption of Mount Saint Helens. The entire landscape is deeply covered in fine ash, and the sky never seems to clear. In this murky setting, Phillip is pummeled by life with an alcoholic and verbally abusive father, lost opportunities, and failing relationships. At times my frustration with his inability to move on—to make positive decisions—was strong, but Phillip does battle through—he finds the strength he needs within himself. This was a fine read.
      ~ Kathryn Long

A story that is well told and a character that is quite compelling and an author that teaches us those obstacles can be overcome if we want to overcome them or we can get stuck in our own private vacuum.

~ Fran Lewis in Just Reviews/MJ Magazine

T. Lloyd Winetsky grew up in Los Angeles and has taught ESL and Bilingual Education to students of all ages in the Southwest and Northwest. Now retired from full-time teaching, Terry is currently a part-time ESL instructor for adult farm workers. Marķa Juana's Gift is the author's second novel. His first, Grey Pine (2007), is a psychological-historical novel set during the ash fall from Mount St. Helens in 1980. His third novel, also historical fiction, is Los Angeles, 1968: Happy Ranch to Watts, published in 2014—it takes place in a South-Central Los Angeles school during the volatile spring of 1968. A fourth novel, Belagana-Belazana, is planned for release in 2016. It takes place in the Navajo Nation, where Winetsky and his spouse, Kathleen, taught for several years. Pen-L Publishing will release Belagana-Belazana plus new editions of the first three books in Winetsky's "American Teachers" series. Terry and Kathleen live in the Yakima Valley of Central Washington.