Taylor Jordon opened Black Birch Books, Wasilla, Alaska, with a vision of "having a safe place that felt like another world, where people could escape," the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reported in a profile of the new and used bookstore that will celebrate its first year in business this March. "I'm honored to be Wasilla's bookstore," Jordon said. "We've got such a diverse community. It's something that we should celebrate."
After 15 years in the U.S. Air Force, she suffered a spine injury and her longtime idea of one day opening a bookstore "became a reality quicker than she anticipated," the Frontiersman wrote.
"My spine injury was unexpected so it kind of made me create a whole different life," Jordon said, observing that her new life is unexpectedly fast-paced: "Here I am retired and I had this picture in my head: I'm gonna open a bookstore; I'm gonna read books all day; and drink tea and it's gonna' be great. I have now read 23 chapters of a book and I've almost overdosed on tea to keep me alive because I don't have time to eat."
She has "also built strong relationships with other independent bookstores like Fireside Books in Palmer and Title Wave Books in Anchorage," and does not see them as her competition, since "they all do things differently and feed off each other in a mutually beneficial way," the Frontiersman noted.
"Certain businesses in this economy thrive when they work together," Jordon said.