Enoch's Journey: A Novel of the American West

In the crucible of frontier America, A boy's faith is refined by the sins of a nation, And a man is forged. Raised in a volatile gold-mining town riddled with poverty and prejudice, Enoch yearns to escape the fate handed him at birth. Military service promises new purpose, but Enoch quickly realizes he's been conned, not called. Guarding isolated mail routes against starving Indians and oppressing the Mormon population—Enoch's own people—only deepens his unrest. His mind becomes a battleground where his faith, his father's gray ethics, and the demands of military duty wage an endless war. Until the horrific Bear River Massacre. Amid the slaughter of innocent Natives, a desperate Shoshoni mother pushes her infant into Enoch's arms. Driven by guilt, he deserts his regiment and flees the burning wreckage, setting out on the icy Montana Trail with baby Grace. Each frozen shadow conceals dangerous beasts and ruthless bandits, but Enoch most fears the soldiers who would arrest him—and likely kill Grace. Every mile demands faith Enoch barely possesses, but one truth guides him: Grace must survive. Her life is his redemption. Rich with biblical symbolism, historical detail, and emotional grit, Enoch's Journey delivers a powerful exploration of conscience and resilience in the American West—a landscape largely absent from Civil War narratives. Fans of Philipp Meyer's The Son and Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose will be gripped by Enoch's harrowing odyssey toward a new Zion.