Crossing Purgatory

A Novel

By: Gary Schanbacher

Narrated by: William Dufris

In spring of 1858, Thompson Grey, a young farmer, travels to his father’s estate seeking funds to expand his holdings. Far overstaying his visit, he returns home to find that his absence has contributed to a devastating family tragedy. Haunted by remorse, Thompson abandons his farm and begins a westward exile in the attempt to outpace his grief. Unwittingly, he finds himself at journey’s end in the one place where his strongest temptations are able to overtake him and once again put him to the test. Set against the backdrop of the frontier during the years just preceding the Civil War, Crossing Purgatory tells a story of unprincipled ambition, guilt, and the price one man is willing to pay for atonement.

©2013 Gary Schanbacher (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

"This striking tale, a literary western from Schanbacher, chronicles one momentous year in the life of a plainsman on the eve of the American Civil War…. [A] visceral and triumphant saga of the Old West." ( Publishers Weekly)

Well written and well read!

Attention to detail made this book easy to listen to and visualize. As the reader follows a heartbroken loner and a wagon train west, a story of hardship and healing unfolds. This was my first book by Gary Schanbacher, but it won't be my last!