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Westbound
For fifteen years, retired newspaper editor Elliott Madison worked on a book about
his great-grandfather’s terrifying voyage around Cape Horn and his great-
grandmother’s tragic journey on the California Trail, the homestead they developed
into a prosperous ranch in Mendocino County.
Now, in the waning hours of his life, he recalls the day he was contacted by a woman from New York City named Phoebe Crighton, who claimed a distant relative was employed as a hired hand on his family’s ranch. Elliott was perfectly willing to believe that might be true, but when Ms. Crighton abruptly flew out
to San Francisco to meet him, he was at once stunned and appalled by her insistence that this relative, a former Civil War infantryman, and his great-grandmother were lovers. Reluctantly, he agreed to drive Ms. Crighton up to Anderson Valley to see what they could learn about the intersecting arcs of their ancestors’ lives – never imagining that spur-of-the-moment journey into the past would change his own life forever.
his great-grandfather’s terrifying voyage around Cape Horn and his great-
grandmother’s tragic journey on the California Trail, the homestead they developed
into a prosperous ranch in Mendocino County.
Now, in the waning hours of his life, he recalls the day he was contacted by a woman from New York City named Phoebe Crighton, who claimed a distant relative was employed as a hired hand on his family’s ranch. Elliott was perfectly willing to believe that might be true, but when Ms. Crighton abruptly flew out
to San Francisco to meet him, he was at once stunned and appalled by her insistence that this relative, a former Civil War infantryman, and his great-grandmother were lovers. Reluctantly, he agreed to drive Ms. Crighton up to Anderson Valley to see what they could learn about the intersecting arcs of their ancestors’ lives – never imagining that spur-of-the-moment journey into the past would change his own life forever.
303 pages, Hardcover
Published March 1, 2022
11 people want to read
About the author
K. Patrick Conner
6 books5 followersA sixth-generation Californian, K. Patrick Conner grew up in the Central Valley, graduating from Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia in 1970. He attended Chico State University, receiving his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1976 and his Master’s degree in English in 1977. In 1978, he was a winner of the San Francisco Foundation's Joseph Henry Jackson award.
After working for the Chico News & Review and the Whole Earth Review, Conner was hired by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1987. He worked at the newspaper for more than twenty years, including five years as City Editor. He was Assistant Managing Editor for News when he left the paper in 2009.
He is the author of four prior books: the novels “Blood Moon,” published by Doubleday in 1987, and “Kingdom Road, published by Donald Fine, Inc. in 1991 and subsequently brought out as a paperback by Signet in 1992, "Dying Words," published by NACL Press in 2012, and “Horace Bristol: An American View,” a biography of one of the first photographers to work for LIFE magazine, published by Chronicle Books in 1996. His most recent novel, "Westbound," was published on March 1, 2022.
He currently lives on San Francisco’s Russian Hill with his wife, Christine Cuccia, and their cats.
After working for the Chico News & Review and the Whole Earth Review, Conner was hired by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1987. He worked at the newspaper for more than twenty years, including five years as City Editor. He was Assistant Managing Editor for News when he left the paper in 2009.
He is the author of four prior books: the novels “Blood Moon,” published by Doubleday in 1987, and “Kingdom Road, published by Donald Fine, Inc. in 1991 and subsequently brought out as a paperback by Signet in 1992, "Dying Words," published by NACL Press in 2012, and “Horace Bristol: An American View,” a biography of one of the first photographers to work for LIFE magazine, published by Chronicle Books in 1996. His most recent novel, "Westbound," was published on March 1, 2022.
He currently lives on San Francisco’s Russian Hill with his wife, Christine Cuccia, and their cats.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 13, 2022
A gripping story of how the tentacles of history reach through centuries to create modern day “fate.” Characters are real, imperfect and funny yet motivated by goodness.
Displaying 1 of 1 review