A nuclear bomb detonated at a high altitude above America would be devastating. Bizarre, thrilling, and occasionally informative fiction is available about the aftermath of an EMP; however, what would that be like for the average person?

Bereft of basic necessities - clean water, food, healthcare, and the rule of law - this tale of resilience tests the limits of human tenacity against a backdrop of societal decay. Hanley, a retired physician with a foresight for preparation, helps lead his kin in a transformative quest, confronting a reality harsher than that faced by the pioneering forebears of the American West. Unlike their predecessors, they must learn lost self-sufficiency skills and forge new ones to adapt to a world devoid of technological crutches.

Can an extended family and friends with origins as city-dwellers, ill-equipped for managing in the wild, use their academic acumen and limited supplies to develop the necessary skills and successfully apply them for survival? Can people who no longer understand the basis for how things work start over and rethink, almost from scratch, how to obtain their basic needs? An extended family and friends take on that challenge, a move from a complicated system of interdependency to relative isolation and self-sufficiency.

"Shutdown and Restart" examines the potential for America's rebirth, for modern-day pioneers to survive and, in the process, pave the way for a national resurgence. Will violence, chaos, famine, and desperation claim the remnants of a fractured nation?

While not a survival manual, this story may inspire a deeper comprehension of the formidable challenges and ingenuity required to survive - and thrive - in a world turned upside down.