Kirjahaku

A touching memoir about Marthin Werven, a Norwegian emigrant who settles in North Dakota at the beginning of the 20th century. As Marthin struggles to support his family during the thirties and forties he becomes dependent on his three sons. Lawrence would eventually leave the farm to serve in the Army during the Korean War. Later, a failing U.S. economy forces Lawrence to relocate his own family to Muscat, Oman where he becomes the first American to lead a convoy across the Arabian Peninsula. The lives of Marthin and Lawrence are told by Gerry Werven, who shares his memories of his grandfather and father as well as his own experiences growing up in Walhalla, North Dakota.

Courage, compassion, and hope are the themes of eight short stories. A six-year-old girl learns what a martyr is. A farm boy is changed by the Korean War. A son questions his father's death on November 22, 1963. A teenager encounters Indigenous people in the 1850s. A man spends a weekend with his dying father. A young mother challenges her dad's judgement. A family makes sports history. An impoverished boy returns something of value to a mother in mourning. These are stories about ordinary people who lived on the Northern Plains and faced hardship with dignity, humor, and selflessness. They did not allow themselves to become victims and they are much more than just survivors.