Explore the Book

Peace Like a River takes us to a small Minnesota town in the mid 1960's and revolves around the Land family - father, Jeremiah, the eldest sibling Davy, nine-year-old Swede, and the narrator, 11-year-old Reuben.

One night two men break into the Land's home and it changes the family forever. Davy is controversially convicted of murder but before he can be sent to prison, he flees to the Badlands of North Dakota. Compelled by circumstances that Jeremiah believes to be a sign of God's will, the family sets out to find Davy.

Throughout their adventure they make friends and elude adversaries, including an FBI agent who follows the family expecting them to lead him to Davy. Repeatedly things work out in a manner that leads young Reuben to believe his father is performing miracles. These miracles occur throughout their quest, and the family will often wait for a sign from God before proceeding, as they believe that they are simply being led to Davy by God, rather than finding him themselves.

The side story of an infamous outlaw "Sunny Sundown" is created by Swede, who loves to write about the Wild West. Her poetic tale of Sunny parallels the journey of the Land family as Swede continually writes more over the course of their search for the wayward Davy.