Depression Carpenter A Road Trip through the Gulf States during The Great Depression Coming of age, race relations, historical fiction A young man, Jackson "Jake" Ferry, born into a privileged New York family, loses them in a car accident. Young and wealthy, he needs to justify his existence during The Great Depression. He is skilled in carpentry and drives around the Gulf of Mexico, working on building projects with his peculiar friend and partner from Florida, Chin, who has cheerfully abandoned his family in favor of an adventure. Together, they travel an amazing road trip, helping poor folks along the way, repairing their homes and their lives.Eventually, Jake lands in Galveston, where he stays to help rebuild the island after their first Great Flood, building an inter-racial school for the island's orphans.The road trip comes to an end in with Jake back in New York City, an older and wiser man with an internal compass to guide his path.