Pa taught his family that God will not shut a door without opening a window. He said it was God's Way of leading His Children. And during hard times, Pa added that it was the North wind that made the Vikings.
What he didn't tell Laurin, his 17 year-old daughter, was how small and difficult "getting through" that window might be or how long and strong that North wind might blow .
It was 1848. Pa followed his dream; he was taking his family to the Promised Land, a land called California .
Laurin, like her father, dreamed big . until tragedy struck
When cholera claimed the lives of her parents and older brothers in the Humboldt Sink, she had to find that window . set her own sail against that staunch wind .
Only she remained to do it
She had to find a way not just to survive the trek over the Sierra and into California, but to survive once they arrived. It wasn't for herself but for her younger brother, age 7, and sister, age 4 . they were her responsibility . their future, their very lives depended upon her. They couldn't go back; there was no "back" .
She loved them . she had to find a way .