JUNKYARD PRINCESS

a memoirella

by Robyn Saunders Wilson

Cover art by Ryan Floyd Johnson

March 24, 2026

Print ISBN: 979-8-9913071-4-7

Ebook ISBN: 979-8-9913071-6-1

Preorder Junkyard Princess at the places below & coming soon to whatever retailer you want!

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

• Literary Arts Bookstore

EVENTS

March 27 - The Book Bin, Salem

• 5 pm

• 450 Court St, NE, Salem

• In conversation with Jessica Amos

• Free — RSVP

April 8 - Literary Arts, Portland

• 6:30 pm

• 716 SE Grand Ave, Portland

• In conversation with Banana Pitch Press Founding Editor Michelle Kicherer

• Free — RSVP

Junkyard Princess

The year is 1983. It’s a time of both mullets and glam, Bowie and the Smiths, and for twelve-year-old Robyn: rusty old vehicles, terrifying dogs, and grease-stained car guys. Robyn’s dad has just uprooted the family from the clean streets of Orange County and plopped them in the middle of the California High Desert to fulfill his lifelong dream: to own a junkyard.

At first, the new business is a lark, but soon Robyn is hawking auto parts amidst a motley assortment of fugitives and refugees. Too young to know better, Robyn misses that the people around her may be slightly dangerous. Without any real role models and lost among kids her own age, Robyn fakes her way through her teen years by mimicking the only adults she admires: soap opera stars and characters plucked from Danielle Steel romance novels. But when the rise of meth use takes hold of the area, a new flicker of danger threatens to strike its match on the Saunders’ junkyard kingdom.

Told in smiling vignettes, filled with daydreams and vulnerability and just a hint of self-deprecation, Junkyard Princess is infused with compassion for the blue collar and empathy for the underdog. Saunders Wilson’s debut memoirella explores familial bonds and inherited histories, empty gas tanks, and that sweet spot of redemption that only comes from a life of observing and choosing differently.

PRAISE

“Junkyard Princess is a generous, wise, and deeply moving memoir. Robyn Saunders Wilson has gifted us a beautifully written and powerful exploration of inherited trauma and the enduring love that seeks to heal. Don’t miss this one!”

– Alan Drew, author of Gardens of Water and The Recruit

“Junkyard Princess is a collection of vignettes that drive down vulnerable and youthful roads unexpected, yet familiar. Aching with nostalgia, Saunders claims "we are children without breaks", but through scraps of memories and heaps of time, the breaks of reality fast approach. Through these raw recollections – some shiny, some rusted, some sexy red and some painfully dented, the reader is led by Saunders to the beauty and richness of myth in truth amidst self-discovery.” – SarahAnn Harvey, Founding Editor of Pile Press

“A love story if ever there was one. Humming with grit and humor, like the Plymouth Fury III. Junkyard Princess hums with windows-down honesty, cruisin’-speed wit, and a fresh grease marker. You won’t be able to put it down!”

-Jessica Amos, TEDx Speaker and founder of Stay With Yourself

“I laughed. I cried. Junkyard Princess gave me all the feels…a tender slice of life filled with humor, heartbreak, and unexpected moments of meaning. Just when you think you know where her story is headed, a surprise turn invites you deeper—opening memories, sparking connection, and reminding you how beautifully human we all are. This touching, relatable story will make you laugh, smile, and stay with you long after the final page.” -Carlee Wright, Editor, Press Play Magazine

About Robyn Saunders Wilson

Robyn Saunders Wilson is a non-fiction writer based in Salem, Oregon. A graduate of Portland State University’s Professional Writing MA program, she has split her time as a communications consultant, bike shop owner, mountain bike coach, and community activist, but mostly a writer of stories–true and otherwise. 

One day, long ago, Robyn found herself slumped in the driver’s seat of her red jeep (Jeep’s name: Beth) while waiting her turn in a Jiffy Lube drive-thru. More specifically, she waited for a guy named Jim (his name was embroidered in blue on his work shirt), to get rolling on an oil change. He was not moving fast. She shifted in her seat trying to dodge the sun burning her eyes. A deep discomfort took over and the knowledge that she wasn’t supposed to be there. No “reputable car person” goes to one of these oil change palaces of convenience. “Reputable car person.” Was that who she was? That sounded wrong, too. And with that label in mind, Robyn began to chase her identity, following a thread she didn’t know needed to be pulled; a family history that she had never really questioned until pen hit paper later that night in a memoir class at Portland State University. And with that, JUNKYARD PRINCESS was born.

Robyn’s work has been published in Pile Press, House of Huckleberry, Press Play, and Annabelle Magazine, amongst others. JUNKYARD PRINCESS is her debut book.

Follow or contact her through her website, robynsaunderswilson.com or Instagram: @robyn_saunders_wilson