128-page memoir, published in 2012 by Microcosm Publishing

White Elephants was Katie’s first traditionally published book, put out by Microcosm in 2012. It’s a beautiful, small object filled with stories about objects. Here’s a more detailed description:

White elephants the odd, old, and discarded things that end up at yard sales and flea markets—and Katie Haegele loves them all. Well, an awful lot of them, anyway. She lives a few blocks from the house she grew up in, and every summer she and her mother scour the neighborhood tag sales, looking for treasure. In this unusual, touching memoir, she chronicles the places they go and the things they find there, describing every detail in her singular, charming voice. In the end she finds more than just ugly table lamps and frilly aprons, ultimately discovering a real friendship with her mother, a deeper connection to her father, whose death left a hole in her life—and even a bit of romance.