Career
Jan Zita Grover has worked in canine rescue since 1973, especially with discarded puppy mill breed dogs. One of these dogs, Pixie, is the model for artist Nancy Lane's illustrations of Dakota.
Grover spent the late 1980s working with AIDS patients in a San Francisco hospital, which left her feeling depressed, anxious, and guilt-ridden. In North Enough: AIDS and Other Clear-Cuts, she writes about her experiences working with AIDS victims and draws similarities between the symptoms of the disease and the brutally ravaging effects of clear-cut lumbering methods in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. The book includes accounts of her relationships with AIDS patients and her relationship with nature.
But she left. Jan Zita Grover moved cross-country to Minnesota, hoping to find a place north enough to feel an escape. What she didn't expect to find is the reality of the devastated landscape. There she worked as a volunteer with a man named Darryl, who begs her to cook for him and then finds himself unable to eat.
Jan is also the author of Northern Waters (1999), published by Graywolf Press. Picture books include: Buster, Where Are You? (1998), Rico's Hawk (1999) Beyond Turkey (2005), The Everyday Witch (2002-2006), and others.