Merryman, a captivating story of survival and self-discovery

Sunrise.

I was still sitting on the cold hard ground. Not moving.

My mind stirred. Can you move yet?

I lifted my right hand and looked at my fingers. They still tingled, but they would curl into a cold fist now.

Yes, I could move. I shifted and stretched my right leg. I took a deep breath and swallowed.

I was coming back.

The weak sunlight brushed the air. The forest chirped with the sounds of morning. The dew-spotted grass quivered.

Life was going on.

My mind stepped in. But you don’t have a life now.

That’s right.

You have to get a new life.

It's 1890. Sixteen-year-old Jess Picaro has been living a feral and directionless life. But now he also has a terrible secret. He is desperate to get away before this secret is discovered. And he's convinced the only place for a person like him is the Wild West.

His first move is to make a five-year-old orphan believe that he is her lost brother. At first, this is just a ploy to get a free train ride, but as the trip continues, his plans change.

Convinced he has escaped his past, Jess throws himself into a new life as a farmhand in the community of Buckner, Kansas. It's a place of surprises—people, challenges, and opportunities—that Jess has never imagined before. It's almost as if he has found a life that's too good to be true.

But when his past catches up to him, Jess' new life begins to collapse.

What will happen when the people who have grown to love and trust him find out the truth?

Can he ever be honest with himself?

Will he ever reveal his secret?

With engaging storytelling and clear narrative, author Vanessa Sperling takes you on a wild journey to the 1800s American Midwest alongside a courageous teenager as he discovers himself while trying to escape from a mysterious past.

Listeners who loved the classic stories Oliver Twist, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Anne of Green Gables will also enjoy listening to Merryman, a heartwarming story that will keep you up listening late into the night, all the way to its shocking ending.