Flathead grad pens memoir about flawed family

The exterior shell of Nicole Harkin’s life exudes accomplishment.

The 1993 Flathead High School graduate’s resume is stuffed with achievement — a law degree, Fulbright Fellow in Germany, a research associate for a federal project on government oversight, a long stint as an analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Harkin’s personal life seems right on track, too. As a child she belonged to Girl Scouts, played on Flathead’s first girls soccer team, was a ski-school instructor and took dance lessons. Now, at 43, she has a loving husband, two young sons and a nice life in Washington, D.C.

Yet there was a story to be told about what people didn’t see when they pictured her life. What bubbled up is the account of a family that was flawed and sometimes excruciatingly human. Harkin’s book, “Tilting, A Memoir,” was published in June by independent publishing company Black Rose Writing.

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