Enticed by promised opportunities in America, the author’s Scots-Irish ancestors—the Porters and the Oakleys—immigrated to America in the 1700s, and settled in Appalachia against the backdrop of the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, and Civil War. Her Swedish ancestors—the Swansons and the Fredrikssons—arrived in the late 1800s, and faced the hardships of homesteading in Minnesota before finally settling in the Pacific Northwest. Through sheer determination and hard work, they thrived and laid the foundations of success for future generations.