One man's search for personal grace in a town plagued by misfortune. Henry Soames runs a diner in an eccentric rural community in the Catskills. He is anxious and overweight, and at age forty-two, suffers from poor health. When Callie Wells, Soames's seventeen-year-old employee, is impregnated by a local boy on his way to college, it becomes apparent that both are in need of a little help. After an unsuccessful attempt to find Callie a husband, Henry accepts the role. But soon after the improbable marriage commences, strange events occur in the small town, and Henry's pursuit of personal salvation begins. Written by the author of October Light and The Sunlight Dialogues, Nickel Mountain is a wonderfully conceived narrative about one man's search for fulfillment in a lonely world. This ebook features a new illustrated biography of John Gardner, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Gardner family and the University of Rochester Archives.