A WINDING PATH to

FLAT WATER

A Scandalous Midwest Origin Story Based on True Events:

How the kidnapping of a family patriarch inspired an unbelievable quest.

🌟 2021 Firebird Book Award Winner 🌟

From breakout author Rob Soles, comes the novel A Winding Path to Flat Water, an elegy to his late great grandfather whose life is a longstanding family legend.

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"A Winding Path to Flat Water" by Rob Soles is the best novel I have read in a good while.

I have long been interested in the theme of Anglo children being raised as Native Americans from the time I read the first classic of that theme, "The Light in the Forest" by Conrad Richter to the 2013 best-selling novel, "The Son" by Philipp Meyer. "A Winding Path" pursues that theme but so much more.

I unreservedly recommend this book.

David Komatz, M.A., M. Ed., Psy. D.

Rob Soles has told an amazing and engaging story of perseverance, overcoming adversity, and hope. He has done so with a mesmerizing tale of how his great-grandfather made his way to Nebraska in the early days of western settlement. His depiction of the interaction between white settlers and the native tribes is thoughtful and mesmerizing and shows a more realistic and human relationship than is typically shown by the entertainment world or Hollywood. Rob writes with a beautifully depictive style that allows the reader to easily imagine what the characters are seeing, feeling, and experiencing. While this particular story is obviously close to Rob's heart, I hope this is just the first of what will be many more stories he has to tell.

Barry L. Mark, Vice President, Design & Construction, WPS, Capital One

All families are different. This one just happens to be based on a little white lie.

Henry Soles’ winding path to Nebraska started with his kidnapping.

He was just a baby when he was taken from his parents.

Growing up among a roaming, Midwest, Native American tribe, Mama was the only mother figure he had ever known. And he had no reason to suspect that anything was wrong.

Until he became old enough to recognize that his white skin and the attention it drew meant he was different somehow.

Eventually, Mama could lie to him no longer.

And everything Henry had known to be the truth was shattered in an instant.

Reeling from pain and confusion, and seeing no other reasonable option, the young man decided to head west.

In search of his roots and of the family he lost.

Little does he know, he’s about to learn the greatest lesson there is:

That it’s not important where you come from.

But rather what you make of your life with what you have.

Join Soles in this reimagining of his great-grandfather’s adventurous journey to Nebraska. And the heartwarming lessons he learns on the way to coming home.

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About the Author

Rob Soles grew up in a small town in north central Nebraska. Family gatherings were a fundamental part of his childhood, as were the stories of his great grandfather Henry Soles. Rob hopes his version of Henry’s path to Nebraska is entertaining for readers and will spur more family stories. He lives with his wife in Omaha, where they continue to make family gatherings a tradition.