Heaven Is a Long Way to Go

Book excerpt: Book Summary: Heaven Is A Long Way to Go This non-fiction book takes the reader into the hopes, hardships, and tragedies of four generations of ambitious individuals, connected by lineage and marriage. They emigrated to America from Norway, England and the Isle of Man, seeking freedom and free lands offered by the federal Homestead Act. Settling in Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and Nebraska, they were challenged by economic humiliations, locust plagues, blizzards, prairie fires, accidents, and illness. There were good times too, like picnics, family bonding, and baseball! A source of hope for family members in difficult times was their belief in Seventh-day Adventism, a rapidly growing Christian denomination. They were sustained by their belief in an imminent Second Coming of Christ to earth, during which they would be taken to a safe and everlasting heaven. Author T. Joe Willey based his stories on research from old newspapers, letters, and other publications of the time, using historical methodology, not as a religious apologetic.