A Divide Beyond Reason

by Roger Emile Stouff

A story of three lives and the influences that molded them... Matt Bromley, Gordon Bredenbury and Casey Engleman were like brothers; they were born but a few weeks apart to parents who had known each other all their lives. As boys they were inseparable and adventurous; during the summer of 1936 they built a wooden rowboat, probed the secrets of a dark carnival and a mysterious Goat Boy, and were thrust into the path of a crazed Indian loner and a crime that shocked their small mountain community. As grown men they remained close as kin, went to war and found love in places near, far and unexpected. But their lives slowly diverged until these three old men are reunited after years of estrangement under the shadow of a crime carried out within the loose letters of a twisted law. Now Matt Bromley faces the loss of his home to developers and corrupt county officials. He awaits eviction with a shotgun in his hands. Casey Engleman has sided with those who will seize the Bromley farm for dubious purposes. And Gordon Bredenbury is the sheriff who must serve the order that will rip his lifelong friend from his home. "A Divide Beyond Reason" examines how the choices we make do not always turn out the way we hope, and laments an age of reason, reliable justice and honor. And it asks what truly is important to us. Important enough to die for.

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2013

About the author

Roger Emile Stouff is the son of Nicholas Leonard Stouff Jr., last chief of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, and Lydia Marie Gaudet Stouff, daughter of a Cajun farmer. He has been a journalist for more than thirty years and writer of the award-winning column "From the Other Side" in the St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune. He was featured on the television show "Fly Fishing America" in 2006, and was writer and narrator of the documentary "Native Waters: A Chitimacha Recollection" on Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 2010. Based on his two memoirs, "Native Waters" and "The Great Sadness," the show is now showing on public broadcasting stations nationwide, was nominated for an Emmy and was recipient of a Bronze Telly Award.

He writes extensively about his Native American ancestry in autobiography, fiction and short stories, including the connection the Chitimacha, "people of the many waters" hold to the ancestral waters of the Atchafalaya Basin.

With co-author Kenneth Brown he has also authored science-fiction and epic fantasy novels, including the first two books of the series "The Allidian Saga."

Reviews

[Sidney Rippy McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

I read the third book in this series first and had a hard time following it because it referenced this book so much. So, I got this one. The story of three men and their lifelong friendship is excellent. It begins when the world was a simpler, nicer place. A place where boys can take off with fishing poles or rifles and wander the countryside. It takes you to the end of their lives and their friendship, through learning from their Indian mentor, war, normal adulthood, and old age. It's a good story.

[Loretta Swafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one...