Finding Caanan

by Ken Dehaven

Finding Canaan" is set in a small community in the Missouri Ozarks in the 1970s. JC Eagle, a college educated young man, only knows that his mother is a Native American and his father is white. He desperately needs to know his father, or just to know his father's name! He returns to his troubled home town in the Ozarks in search of his heritage. As he struggles to find answers to his own problems, he confronts a myriad of community problems too great to treat with his meager resources, but he accepts these as well. He takes refuge in Mrs. Nash's old boarding house, and she becomes a kindred spirit to help guide him through his personal "wilderness of human failure." Only later, from her diary, did JC learn of her prayers for him. He brings the community together to build a new children's home. At the dedication, JC addressed the crowd: "May the wilderness of fear and prejudice never again rob us of the blessing we know at this moment, and may the message of this transformation flow through these hills and valleys without end. We have been allowed to look over the mountain to see the table of brotherhood laden with the fruits of love and respect - in our 'Promised Land'.

ebook

First published September 20, 2013