Books by Patrick Simpson

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?

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JADA Press
Whither thou Goest
Nonfiction Book of the Year Award
2004

Whither thou Goest
by Patrick Simpson
(published June, 2001)
with illustrations by Debbie Casterlin

The true story of two long-lost pioneers whose dream wouldn't die, and how their family found them more than a century later.

Whither Thou Goest is the first nonfiction book to focus on 1878 America, when the world was in the depths of a depression like none before. In two parallel journeys that take place in the past and the present, Whither Thou Goest attempts to make people long gone come back alive. It examines who we are, where we've been, and has everything to do with where we are going.

The first journey started in 1878. The author's Great-grandaunt and Uncle Beardsley--with their two young daughters, Eva and Frankie--followed their dream of a new life in the American West. They left their small-town Wells Bridge home in upstate New York (between Oneonta and Binghamton) by rail and after a false start on the harsh plains near Sioux Falls, [Brandon] South Dakota, they headed west again--this time by wagon train. Unbeknownst to them, they were headed straight into an Indian war. Swallowed up by time, they became forgotten by everyone back East. Everyone except one--the author.

The second journey started in 1996. By chance, the author learned that Frankie's family home was now the Frazier Farmstead Museum in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. He discovered a small diary kept by Eva--a bare-boned chronicle of their journey west by wagon train. The inspired author and his wife decided to follow their trail across America and learn all they could about 1878 America and his relatives, living and dead. What they discovered--and what they learned--is as exciting as any novel to come out of the American West.

Also read:

Wheelchair Down Under
You've seen the Olympics--Now see the rest!

"No Limits--Wheelchair Down Under proves disabled travelers restless and ready to roll." full-page review in Spectator, Raleigh, North Carolina, (weekly circ: 55,000) Aug. 4, 1999.

"Their experiences are often humorous, sometimes painful, and always spiritual as they rely on each other to get through these daily adventures." Paraplegia News, (magazine), Phoenix, Arizona, (monthly circ: 25,000+) Aug. 1999.

Recommended by Rick Steves on
page 314
of

". . . feels the book encourages handicapped people to reach beyond the limits others may impose on them." Washington Daily News, Washington, North Carolina, Dec. 19, 1997.

"Heartwarming, inspiring account of a couple who overcame the obstacles of traveling the world while physically challenged." Scoop, Washington, North Carolina, (monthly circ: 18,500) Dec. 21, 1997.