Walking West

The westward expansion of the American frontier in the mid-1800s is expertly chronicled in Sickels's heartrending first novel. In 1852, the Muller party of 17 family members and friends sets out from the lush farmland of Indiana, lured by the promise of greater prosperity in California. As they walk alongside their hulking oxen and heavily laden wagons, Alice and Henry Muller, their two children and the others bravely face the unknown and unexpected. Across the plains of Nebraska, through the Black Hills, over the Rockies and across the parched deserts of Nevada, the party endures mile after dusty mile of hardship and sacrifice. Dangerous river crossings, severe weather, accidents, desertion and disease conspire to test the Mullers' love and commitment as a family until only the women and children are left, with Alice as their leader. Historically accurate in its scope and detail, this is a stirring and soulful tale of triumph over despair. (July)