'Answer Creek' tells Donner Party travel journey

Because I write fiction set in the American West, sooner or later I knew I’d be compelled to tell an Oregon Trail story. But why any trail story? If I was going to tackle this subject, I decided to take on one of the most difficult and misunderstood narratives in American history.

Isn’t everyone a bit intrigued by the Donner Party saga? We recall the story of these ill-fated travelers from high school history classes, and what do we remember?

Cannibalism. Even though there’s no avoiding gruesome detail, I focused on the emigrants’ collective humanity through the eyes of fictional protagonist Ada Weeks, whose character is loosely based on a junior high school friend of mine who I consulted frequently during the two-year writing process.

As an historical novelist, I must consider the culture of the time period I’m writing about. Nineteenth century journalist Francis Parkman said, “Faithfulness to the truth of history involves far more than research.” With that in mind, I immersed myself with what Parkman calls “the life and spirit of the times.”

Researching for the novel involved visiting museums, historical markers, libraries and bookstores on the 1,524-mile trip from Lincoln, Nebraska to Sacramento, California in the summer of 2018 with my husband Michael Barclay.

The experience gave me pause on more than one occasion – listening to the constant whistle of wind at the crest of the Continental Divide in Wyoming or reeling from scorching heat walking a portion of the Great Salt Desert in Utah.

There is no substitute for standing in the footsteps (and in this case, original wagon ruts) while researching.

In addition, I read more than 100 books on the subject, including period literature, journals, newspapers and newspaper ads.

My husband is a full research partner. With botany and biology degrees, he answers countless questions, points me in the direction for answers, and helps me out of jams – like how to skin a rabbit (I’m a vegetarian) or how to build a log cabin (I grew up in New York City). He will often write whole paragraphs of scientific knowledge for me that I translate into prose.

“Answer Creek” is garnering positive reviews from the publishing industry. It may be a story about mid-19th century emigrants, but it’s particularly resonant in this time of COVID-19. Consider that the Donner Party wintered over on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains near present-day Reno for 124 days, living in despicable conditions with little food to speak of. We may be inconvenienced with social distancing (and even quarantining), but most of us are not forced to eat blankets, book covers and shoe leather – let alone each other – to survive. It puts everything into perspective.

Ashley Sweeney is the award winning author of “Eliza Waite.” “Answer Creek is her second novel. She lives in Shelter Bay.