Based on a true account: Stranded is the story of 14-year-old Janette Riker who, in the autumn of 1849, travels westward to Oregon Territory with her father and two brothers. Before crossing the Rockies, they stop briefly to hunt buffalo. The men leave camp early on the second day … and never return.

Facing a winter alone in the mountains, Janette pushes aside her despair. She builds a crude shelter and kills and butchers their last ox. Soon, she is trapped by unforgiving early snows of the Northern Rockies.

The harrowing winter brings repeated attempts by mountain lions, grizzly bears, and wolves to dislodge and devour her. With blizzards, frostbite, and gnawing hunger her only companions, Janette rises to each challenge, relying on herself more than she knew possible. Her only comfort comes in writing in her diary, where she shares her fears, her travails, and her dwindling hopes….

Five Star Publishing, 241 pages, May 2017