Born in Campbell River, British Columbia, Alan Haig-Brown learned about water currents and spirits from the Campbell and Quinsam Rivers. In the 1960s, the Assu family of Quadra Island took him out to learn the stories of coastal tides as a commercial fisherman. In the 1970 and ’80s, he went to teach and learn in the plateau country along the Chilcotin River. Since moving to live on the Fraser estuary, he has written several books and many articles telling the stories of boats, the people who run them, and the waters that they travel.