Traces of Magic in a Harsh and Bloody Land

As both a chemist and a Catholic army chaplain, Fr. Patrick Dolan didn’t always fit into normal stereotypes; but he did find time, often while waiting for helicopter transport in combat zones, to write about his beloved valley in the middle of Kentucky. Adopted as an infant, he found that writing this story gave him the roots he never had. Though a number of real-life people, from National Guard buddies to chemistry lab partners to families from his parishes, inspired his fictional characters, the story just came to him, almost as if it was waiting in the valley, wanting to be told. So just as General Lou Wallace wrote ＂Ben Hur＂ after his experiences in the American Civil War, Fr. Pat felt today’s generation deserved their own epic story from another general - and their own American homeland.