The Ticket: 1st in a Trilogy of an American Family Immigration Saga

Destined to a life of servitude, Karl Kessel, a turn-of-the-century German immigrant from a Danube Swabian settlement in Surtschin, Yugoslavia receives an unexpected gift of The Ticket, to America. Grasping his dream he leaves behind his young wife, Katja and two small sons. Karl boards the KronPrinz Wilheim and sails for a country he knows nothing about, only that it promises the opportunity he covets. When he arrives in America, he becomes consumed and obsessed with the unwavering desire to be the owner of a farm-to be his own man. Over a year later, when Katja steps off a train with their sons in the wilds of sparsely settled Wyoming, she questions, ''Is this where I am to spend my life? '' Katja soon discovers that it is not only the geography of her situation which will make her life difficult, as she gives everything her husband demands of her, but it is never enough. In her debut historical novel, the first of a trilogy, Karen Schutte spins a compelling family story woven with rich historical detail. Her nuanced and unvarnished narrative exposes the harsh realities of life in the last century and many memorable events as the Kessels made their journey of life. The Ticket is an unforgettable and touching account of a true American family, filled with ambition, promises, love, loss, and ultimately, a legacy of survival.

Author: Karen L. Schutte
Publisher: Green Spring Publishing
Published: 03/13/2015
Pages: 380
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9780990409564

About the Author
Schutte, Karen L.: - A Wyoming Native, Schutte retired from her career in interior design to take up the pen and write Historical Fiction based on her family's immigration from Europe/Germany. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming and was an ASID designer for 25 years. "I love what I do--I love everything about it from digging up family old bones to combing through records to discover even more stories about my family. I take what I know, what I have learned, and fill in the cracks with my imagination.