Narrow the Road
“Author James Wade paints with words and is destined to become one of the Lone Star State’s most valued authors. Narrow the Road is the purest form of Texas literature, and Wade’s lyrical prose is as beautiful as a springtime bluebonnet. His fully formed characters spring to life, and the setting is so real, we can feel the heat, the danger and humidity of deep East Texas, the Dust Bowl grit in our teeth, and the gut-wrenching sadness of betrayal. Not since The Grapes of Wrath and a desperate family’s journey down the Tom Joad Road has an author submerged readers so deeply into the Great Depression. A must-read.”
Reavis Z. Wortham, author of the Texas Red River Mysteries
In this gripping coming-of-age odyssey, a young man’s quest to reunite his family takes him on a life-altering journey through the wilds of 1930s East Texas, where both danger and opportunity grow as thick as the pines.
With his father missing and his mother gravely ill, William Carter is struggling to keep his family’s cotton farm afloat in the face of drought and foreclosure. As his options wane, William receives a mysterious letter that claims to know his father’s whereabouts.
Together with his best friend Ollie, a mortician in training, William sets out to find his father and bring him home to set things right. But before the boys can complete their quest, they must navigate the labyrinth of the Big Thicket, some of the country’s most uncharted, untamed land. Along the way they encounter eccentric backwoods characters of every order, running afoul of murderers, bootleggers, and even the legendary Bonnie and Clyde.
But the danger is doubled when the boys agree to take on a medicine show runaway named Lena, eliciting the ire of the show’s leader, the nefarious conman Doctor Downtain. As William, Ollie, and Lena race to uncover the clues and find William’s father, Downtain is closing in on them, readying to make good on his violent reputation. With the clock ticking, William must decide where his loyalties lie and how far he’s willing to go for the people he loves.
From award-winning author James Wade, Narrow the Road is a riveting exploration of a young man’s hard-won coming-of-age and the courageous ways a person can forge a singular path in the face of overwhelming adversity. Alive with grit and tenderness, this is an unforgettable story of the power of friendship to sustain us through loss, betrayal, and devastating consequence.
“Author James Wade paints with words and is destined to become one of the Lone Star State’s most valued authors. Narrow the Road is the purest form of Texas literature, and Wade’s lyrical prose is as beautiful as a springtime bluebonnet. His fully formed characters spring to life, and the setting is so real, we can feel the heat, the danger and humidity of deep East Texas, the Dust Bowl grit in our teeth, and the gut-wrenching sadness of betrayal. Not since The Grapes of Wrath and a desperate family’s journey down the Tom Joad Road has an author submerged readers so deeply into the Great Depression. A must-read.”
Reavis Z. Wortham, author of the Texas Red River Mysteries
