The View From the Half Dome

1934. Isabel longs to escape her squalid San Francisco neighborhood. While her mother struggles to make ends meet and her older brother serves with the CCC at Yosemite, she manages the household and comforts her younger sister with stories about an idyllic imaginary world. Desperate for a taste of freedom, she takes matters into her own hands—with tragic consequences.

Distraught, she flees to Yosemite, where she falls in love with its majestic beauty. Inspired by Enid Michael, the park's only female ranger-naturalist, Isabel hikes, learns new skills, and discovers an inner strength she never knew she had. But even as she relishes her independence, she hides her grief, along with a terrible secret she fears will destroy relations with her family. And when she receives upsetting news from home, Isabel must decide if she can assist her family without sacrificing her chance at a new life.

Rich with historical detail and lyrical prose, The View from Half Dome is a moving coming-of-age story about hope, forgiveness, nature's healing power, and the courage to overcome societal boundaries and grow, regardless of age.

Jill Caugherty is the author of the historical novels Waltz in Swing Time (2020) and The View from Half Dome (April 2023). Her short stories have been published in 805Lit, Oyster River Pages, The Potato Soup Journal, The Prospectus Blog, and The Magazine of History and Fiction. After holding software development, product management, and marketing positions in the high-tech industry for nearly thirty years, she now writes full-time. Jill is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers’ Association and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and daughter.