Spanning from 1902 to 1953, covering four generations, tracing intertwined lives that travel from the dark north country of Europe to challenges and opportunities in America, the novel Beyond the Forest is a story about family, commitment, devotion and love. It begins as a homey tale of three families on a winding gravel road in northern Sweden. Although many miles separate the Gunderson's remote cottage from the prosperous Kronberg farm and Potatohead's rough hovel, Eva, Mats and Dagny are still considered neighbors. Beyond the Forest traces their early years, and follows them as teenagers when separately they move to the south of Sweden. Eva works as a kitchen maid in the affluent Lindholm Manor. Mats attends college in Stockholm. Dagny descends into a dilapidated boarding house where men go for food and other pleasures. The three find themselves on the same ship, sailing to America in search of happiness and hopeful opportunities in a new land. Their story contains darkness and enlightenment, struggle and success, love lost and found. Their journey is a saga. But the novel unfolds in short episodes that keep you moving with keen interest through all the novel's twists, turns, dips and ascents. So do as author Ann Stearns invites you in her opening note, "pour yourself a cup of coffee, snuggle into a comfy chair and enjoy "