09-02 | Meet the Author – Alanna Clutter

About this event

Those Coming Back is a fictional tale of four generations of a nineteenth century Iowa family that grew out of routine family genealogical research. The story is voiced by the eldest daughter, Catherine, via the letters and journal entries tracking her personal successes and profound misfortunes. Deep relationships with parents, four grandparents, and two very special friends form the heart of the narrative. Once Catherine marries, the dream of an Oregon farming partnership unexpectedly falls apart. The couple and their daughter trek back to Iowa in a covered wagon, documenting their travels and adventures along the Oregon Trail. The personal story of their trip is informed by a unique handwritten journal from real life family artifacts detailing a similar adventure. Alanna Clutter lives in Iowa where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Drake University. She is married to her best friend and together they have three amazing adult children and seven especially talented grandchildren. Her first career was spent in the world of business and banking where she worked for many years. She has now launched a second career in literature and is proud to have had fifteen poems published since 2012. This novel is her first and she hopes you enjoy reading it as much as she has relished writing and publishing it. Praise for Those Coming Back Alanna R. Clutter’s Those Coming Back is a wonderfully detailed portrait of 19th-century pioneer life, following the multi-generational journey of the Monroe family as they migrate from Ohio to Iowa and eventually brave the Oregon Trail. Told primarily through the letters and diary entries of the eldest daughter, Catherine, the narrative takes a brief moment to build momentum, and her early entries can sound slightly mature for her young age. Once it finds its rhythm, however, Clutter’s authentic sense of time and place effortlessly pulls readers into the family’s world. The real strength of the novel lies in its…