by Melody Lavrakas (Author)
A Long Journey Home - Katherine is a story about the twists and turns in the life of Katherine Keen, a piano prodigy from a small California western town in the 1880's. Katherine's half Indian and half-white heritage causes hardships when she is suddenly sent to live in Boston among the Brahmin social elite. While her professional life as a concert pianist excels, her personal life plummets into despair. Only her childhood friendships help keep her grounded as to who she wants to become. At the age of twenty one, Katherine finds herself in London, a part of another social elite group, pursued by an unwanted English Duke and befriended by an English Countess. Her piano career continues to flourish, taking her to the Continent to perform. At the same time, life's circumstances and loyalty to friends shapes her path in an unwanted direction. No longer able to cope with her situation, she gives up her career as a concert pianist, desiring a simple life of raising horses as she did with her father. Fate once again brings heartbreak and struggles, and she wonders where home is.