The Sweet Blue Distance

A young midwife travels west to the New Mexico Territory to care for women in need and faces dangers more harrowing than the ones she’s fleeing in this epic tale of survival, redemption, and love from Sara Donati, the international bestselling author of the Wilderness series.

1857: In a bid to outrun her past, Carrie Ballentyne accepts a nursing position with a doctor in the New Mexico Territory. She knows the journey from New York to Santa Fe will not be easy, but nothing could have prepared her for the wilderness she encounters, stunning in both beauty and brutality. To endure, she must learn to rely on her fellow travelers—and one enigmatic man in particular. As she and Eli Ibarra tackle challenge after challenge together, she feels her heart opening to this rugged land—and the man willing to risk so much for her.

The trip west is only the beginning of Carrie’s challenges, though. In Santa Fe, Carrie is beloved by new mothers for her talent and compassion. But when she realizes that her employer and his wife are keeping secrets from her, she must uncover the truth to protect their young daughter. To save the little girl she’s come to cherish, Carrie will have to confront the demons in her own past—a feat that will take all of her bravery and the help of the man she’s come to love and depend on above all others.

The Sweet Blue Distance is the unforgettable story of one woman’s courage to heal herself, her family, and the women and children entrusted to her care.

Sara Donati is the international bestselling author of Where the Light Enters, The Gilded Hour, and the Wilderness series, which includes Into the Wilderness, Dawn on a Distant Shore, Lake in the Clouds, Fire Along the Sky, Queen of Swords, and The Endless Forest. She is a native of Chicago but currently lives on Puget Sound.