A Stone's Throw

When Lillian Stone lapses into a coma and is admitted to a San Francisco hospital in the spring of 1969, her twelve-year-old daughter and only child, Maggie, is temporarily taken in by nearby family friends. But when Lillian remains in a comatose state for more than a month, the friendly neighbors can no longer afford to provide for Maggie’s room and board. Uprooted again, she is sent to live and attend school at a local orphanage. Just as she’s beginning to adapt to life at the orphanage, her world is turned further upside down when Ira Stone, a grandfather she has never met, shows up unexpectedly and shuttles her 1200 miles away to live at his ranch on the isolated plains of eastern Montana.

Maggie knows nothing about her hardnosed WWI Veteran grandpa, other than being aware that he and her mother have long been estranged. Thrust into a culture and lifestyle that couldn’t be more opposite than her San Francisco upbringing, Maggie suddenly finds herself expected to do household tasks and perform barnyard chores under the critical eye of the grizzled old rancher.

Ira and Maggie are equally skeptical of the other as they attempt to adapt to the vastly different world they now share. In addition to facing all the challenges in her new life, the worry of whether her mom will ever regain consciousness is never far from Maggie’s thoughts. Despite having to overcome the overwhelming obstacles placed in her path, Maggie’s grit, determination and can-do spirit are on full display in this heartwarming story of how she wins the love and respect of the members of her new community, not the least of which is her grandfather, Ira Stone.