"A spectacular piece of human experience, writing, and inspiration." -Carl Feldbaum, author of
Looking the Tiger in the Eye


This is a true story. From the first sentence, we are in the grip of a narrative that will not let us go until the very last page. Narda Pitkethly's brother vanishes without a trace in September 2001, near the Big Wood River in Sun Valley, Idaho. In the search for Jay, the family undertakes extreme measures to find clues to his disappearance. This plunges Narda into a prolonged period of searching, not only for her brother, but for inspiration and meaning in her life, which ultimately leads her back to a world that makes sense.
Narda's journey takes us on a roller coaster of emotional survival, through the chaos of her childhood and adolescence to the liberating adventures of foreign travel in her twenties; from the legacy of addiction and depression to a hard-won life of calm sobriety. Woven throughout are the often-colorful strands of a broken family, shattered relationships, creative inspiration, hope and adventure, resilience and recovery. What she discovers along the way is not the brother she loved and lost, but a priceless gift she can offer the world: Nardagani, an innovative reading program for students who struggle to read.