by Callie Ann Atkinson (Author)
Memories haunt us for a reason. In The George Story, George Atkinson, the second son of a homesteading and profiteering gentleman, discovers the truth of this during the aftermath of the "Indian Wars." In 1864, feeling pressured to prove himself and driven by a conviction that he is protecting his family, George leaves his home in Black Hawk, Colorado to join a private militia.
The winter of war that he experiences etches itself into his mind so deeply that everywhere he turns he is confronted by memories he'd rather forget. From the stumbling of a horse that crushes its rider to the burning of villages and the suicide of his best friend. In desperation, a year after returning home, George sets off alone, hoping to outrun these memories. He travels into the southwest on what becomes a journey of discovery.
During his travels he becomes a miner, a brick-mason, a town representative, and finally a husband and father, finding a home in the Santa Cruz Valley of Arizona Territory. Here opens a new chapter of his life and he has no choice but to confront the memories that traveled with him.