Book excerpt: "Part road odyssey, part coming-of-age tale, King's novel achieves the exact right balance of humor, redemption, and reconciliation." -Booklist James King's acclaimed debut novel is a rich multigenerational saga that soars with compassion and insight into the pain and joy of family life. Confronted with a diagnosis that threatens his most cherished memories, Bill Warrington-a monumentally stubborn ex-Marine-hatches a daring scheme to grab the attention of his three grown children and patch up their differences. April, his fifteen-year-old granddaughter, wants nothing so much as to become a rock star on the West Coast, making her the perfect-and perfectly willing-abductee on a cross- country trip. With the panorama of America as its backdrop, their adventure becomes an unforgettable journey of discovery and atonement.