One of Americas most respected writers takes an epic journey across America, Airstream in tow, and asks everyday Americans what unites and divides a country as endlessly diverse as it is large.Standing on a wind-scoured island off the Alaskan coast, Philip Caputo marveled that its Inupiat Eskimo schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the same flag as the children of Cuban immigrants in Key West, six thousand miles away. And a question began to take shape:...

Twenty-one-year-old Mary Rasmussen discovers that her life has unraveled when she wakes after being in a coma for six weeks. Although the car crash that left her disabled and claimed her husband's life was not her fault, Mary suffers from survivor's guilt and cannot envision a future for herself. The once independent-minded young woman makes the choice to relinquish control over her life by marrying a zealous preacher, who takes her as his "help meet."...