Book excerpt: Finalist for the 2023 Banff Mountain Book Award for Mountain Fiction & Poetry An Anchorage Daily News Favorite Book of 2023 Kim Heacox, author of the National Outdoor Book Award-winning novel Jimmy Bluefeather, returns with a new, brilliant novel about family love and the lengths one will go to protect it. "A sprawling novel brimming with suspense, ideas and unforgettable characters, On Heaven's Hill paints a captivating group portrait of a rebel alliance discovering their true selves in America's most glorious natural landscape. This book will appeal equally to aging idealists reared on Edward Abbey and adventurous kids hooked on Gary Paulsen. Oh, and it's laugh-out-loud funny, too." —Mark Adams, New York Times bestselling author of Tip of the Iceberg and Turn Right at Machu Picchu "Kim Heacox poses the age-old question—what price progress?—with new urgency in On Heaven’s Hill, his compelling novel of an Alaskan hamlet whose remote location is no defense against big-money development. All that stands in its way is a pack of wolves and the twelve-year-old girl determined to save them. Reminiscent of John Nichols' The Milagro Beanfield War, Heacox deftly weaves lyrical tributes to the healing power of nature with a fast-paced plot that builds to a heart-pounding conclusion." —Gwen Florio, author of Silent Hearts and the Lola Wicks series The small town of Strawberry Flats sits on a remote Alaska coast, peacefully left to itself—until controversial plans for a road and a bridge threaten to upend everything. Former trapper Salt d’Alene never thought he’d find himself in the midst of such a dispute, but he’ll do anything to provide the best care for his son Solomon, recently diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Eleven-year-old Kes Nash just wants her father—back from war in Afghanistan—to be normal again. And circling the perimeter of the town is a wolf, Silver, and his pack, quietly watching. Told from three alternating perspectives, On Heaven’s Hill is a vividly powerful story about rediscovering hope and finding new life in the aftermath of trauma. Filled with humor and compassion, it depicts the best of America, a place composed of wildness and kindness.