Even though the November 4 Silver Social was long-distance, it was still local. Sarah Crouch, a 2006 HHS graduate and professional writer, joined the November Silver Social online via Zoom, but her connection to Hockinson was front and center.
Crouch shared how her early years as a Hockinson student, resident, and athlete helped to shape her character and her writing. She recalled her early years of climbing out her bedroom window, looking into a nearby forest, and writing what she called "really bad poetry." Crouch also spoke to how those experiences in that same forest - both in the day and night - influenced the PNW motif in her first two mystery novels, Middletide and The Briars, which is set to be released in January 2026.
When asked about influential teachers, Crouch gave a nuanced response: She had many favorite teachers, but it was actually the teachers that weren't the ones she liked most as a student who ended up having the biggest impact on her development. In particular, Crouch credited her 4th Grade teacher for instilling strong work habits. "She had no tolerance for late work and expected the best from me every day," Crouch remembered. She also talked about how her 2nd Grade teacher had an incredible library of challenging books that caused "discomfort" at the time, but helped to create long-lasting love of reading. It was classroom experiences like these that helped to establish her own performance standards.
But the life lessons weren't purely confined to the classroom. Crouch, who won HHS's first-ever state title as a runner, learned plenty about goals and perseverance from her experiences in Cross Country and Track. When asked if she could point to any parallels between running and writing, Crouch recalled a high-level track event called Border Clash, which involved the Top 80 runners from Oregon and Washington. She finished 72nd. But what she took from that experience has stayed with her ever since. Crouch said a guest speaker, a former Olympian runner, told the participants that, while they were some of the most talented runners in the nation, only 1 out of 160 would "go pro." The speaker went on to provide her own definition of "grit" that Crouch has since assimilated into her own philosophy: "It isn't necessarily the person with the most talent who becomes a professional, it's the person with the most grit. And grit is the at the intersection of passion and persistence."
Crouch has an abundance of passion and persistence. She ultimately went on to be a 13-time All American in Cross Country and Track at Western Washington University before becoming a professional runner....and most recently a bestselling author. A mother of two, Crouch routinely wakes up at 4 am to write and she still makes time to run over 50 miles a week. Crouch also spoke to her eight "failed manuscripts" that paved the way to Middletide. "Many of us are familiar with the 10,000 hour rule. I think my own experience runs parallel to that notion. I kept chipping away [at my writing] until I found my own voice," said Crouch.
As the Q & A drew to a close, Crouch shared that she incorporates familiar elements into her stories. For instance, she has woven references to the Navajo and Lummi Tribes into her storylines from her years living in Flagstaff, AZ and Bellingham, WA. Crouch also said that readers can expect to see a special homage to Hockinson in her forthcoming book The Briars. Crouch left the rapt audience with a hopeful possibility of an in-person meet-up in 2026: If her book tour includes Portland, OR she will make it a point to visit her hometown to reconnect with old friends and connect with new ones.