The Mountain of Seven Gables is a story of survival and redemption set against a background of Northern California, San Francisco, Fresno, and Sacramento. It takes the reader on a journey down the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to the Summit of Mount Whitney.
Determined to make a clean break with his wife of ten years, Josh Gibson sets out alone from Yosemite Valley following the John Muir Trail. A young woman and her two brothers have begun the same journey for the pleasure of hiking and mountain climbing. A mountaineer who carries with him a terrible burden has plunged into the mountains for his own dark reasons. Their lives become entwined as they learn about pain and the possibility of healing. The Mountain of Seven Gables is far more than an adventure through the Sierra wilderness. It is a spiritual journey for Josh who struggles with the aftermath of Vietnam and a marriage gone south; for Becky driven by circumstances beyond her control to choose between the man she adores and the cast-aside children of her sister Paula whose relationship with another woman has suppressed her maternal instincts for her children; for Kat, physically strong but emotionally exhausted by a love/hate relationship with her mother, who finds her epiphany in a mountain meadow; for Thad who only wants acceptance, but in seeking it gains respect; and for Saul whose terrible secret is revealed to Josh on the mountain.
This is a love story too. It has a spiritual element. It examines the true nature of love. In one sense it is an inspirational story. If we are to make our lives meaningful, and in some cases bearable, we must learn to carry one another’s burdens.
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