by Deborah Larsen (Author)
After years of living in the Northeastern United States, Sophie Nordlund strikes out on her own for the wild Southwest-a "Land Apart." Fragile from a break with old roles, she resolves to write a mystery as well as to maintain an independent spirit in the mountainous desert. In dreams Sophie conjures ancient sites, Paleolithic people, and fluted spear-points. In daily living she encounters eccentric neighbors, the specter of death, rattlesnakes, loneliness, elegant Tucson institutions, and the stunning diversity of the borderlands dwellers with whom she hopes to build community. Crises of faith have followed her throughout life. As the narrative moves forward, Sophie opens herself to the brutal yet beautiful Sonoran landscape and to an improbable love affair with Charles Darwin and his dog. She discovers certain sacred spaces and then her own path. The narrative ends just before the Tucson shootings. In this work the author crosses nonfiction and fiction; however, it is essentially a work of the imagination.