The Heart of America

A remarkable cross-country quest for the soul of our nation. One man, just turned fifty, pedals down a lonely back road. Behind him lie miles of highway, winding through valleys, crossing mountain barriers, leading through deserts and through rich farmland. Ahead lies a still long road — and daily encounters with the heartbeat of America, its people, and its neighborhoods. In the spirit of Peter Jenkins' Walk Across America, author and radio co-host Mike Trout sets forth on a journey into the American Heartland. The longtime announcer for Dr. James Dobson's daily radio program begins his travels in Santa Monica, California. Destination: the Atlantic Ocean, a continent away. The Heart of America chronicles his pilgrimage. Mike explores small towns and big cities, visiting with farmers, lawyers, factory workers, and teachers — rich, poor, rural, urban, and everything in between. In one-on-one encounters, he asks the common man and woman: What do we believe? What is good about America? What works? What doesn't work? What do we really value? And in the process he finds the pulse of America, the heartbeat of a vast and sprawling country that is home to hundreds of different cultures and sub-cultures — from the Kansas wheat farmer to the Kentucky mountain man, from a rural Southern family to a single person living in the urban landscape of Southern California. Because of his association with Focus on the Family, a great deal of attention is given to family issues. How do parents in the heart of America actually make a difference in their families? What is a godly home and how do you build one? And how strong are our churches and families? A first-person account of both an outward and an inward journey, The Heart of America chronicles one man's experience of the land and people of this country. Filled with black-and-white and color photographs, here is an inspiring story — a traveler's tale and wise insights into what America is really all about.