The Last Rancher

Written by Laurie Zoloth

Narrated by Laurie Zoloth

Leroy Wagner has given his heart and soul to the Bar W Ranch. He knows no other way. His wife, Caroline, born in the city, struggles with the loneliness of marriage to a man committed first to his land. When tragedy robs them of their first-born, the handsome and talented Wade, it’s all either can do to face the world.

 Their second-born, Michael, attempts to fill his brother’s shoes, and their only daughter, Annie, searches for a way to reconcile her love for the Bar W with her feeling that she must flee it if she is to survive. Finally, there’s Jimmy, the Wagners’ unplanned replacement child, born too late into a world of broken hearts. 

When a near-fatal accident befalls Leroy, the Wagner children must return to the Bar W to save the ranch and what remains of their family ties. Secrets are unearthed. Truths are told. Consequences are faced.

Giving voice to the contemporary American West, The Last Rancher follows one family’s quest to survive on the demanding and starkly beautiful high plains of Kansas. Doing so will require them to come together as never before to acknowledge the challenges of the present and the long and lingering shadows of the past. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meadowlark Press
• Release date: Jun 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781956578614

Laurie Zoloth

Laurie Zoloth is associate professor of social ethics and Jewish philosophy and chair of the program in Jewish studies at San Francisco State University. She is also co-founder of The Ethics Practice, a firm devoted to providing bioethics education and clinical consultation.