An Ordinary Woman
NY: Forge, hardcover 1999; trade paper 2001

A non-fiction biography of the first American woman to reach California over the Sierra. When she walked into California with her husband and several other pioneers (all men), after a harrowing 6-month trek, without guides, maps, or even a clear idea of where they were going, Nancy Kelsey was 19, barefoot, pregnant, and carrying her 2 year old daughter in her arms. And that was just the beginning.