Heart Land is a fictional memoir of a boy growing up in rural Ohio between 1930 and 1940, a time of social and historic importance that still resonates in American political life. Caroline Miller establishes a humorous and poignant tone in a style that is arresting from the first page.
At heart, the story is driven by distant memories, evoked from photographs found in an album discovered during a home visit for a mother’s funeral. The discoveries are touching and astonishing in their reach. Heart Land indelibly portrays America lived by Americans.
This is a novel about families, shared history, and pride of place.
Caroline Miller wrote Heart Land during the past few years because she wanted to remind herself and others of what’s good about being an American. Right or wrong, like most of my countrymen, I felt the United States had taken a bad turn recently in our relationship with the world. The face we were showing wasn’t the face that she loved and honored.