Adventure awaits.
When the Moon Touches the Mountain is a powerful coming-of-age story set deep in the Ozark hills, where faith is forged, courage is tested, and boyhood begins its journey toward manhood.
When David leaves the city to spend the summer on his grandparents’ forty-acre farm, he expects fishing trips, squirrel hunts, and long days in the woods. What he doesn’t expect is a summer that will change him forever. Under the steady guidance of his wise and weathered grandfather, and alongside a new friend whose life is far more complicated than his own, David discovers lessons no classroom could ever teach.
Through encounters with wild animals, hard truths, family loyalty, and the raw beauty of creation, David begins to understand what it means to be brave, to stand firm, and to seek God in the quiet places of the earth.
Rich with authentic Ozark culture, humor, and heart, this unforgettable adventure reminds readers that sometimes the wilderness is exactly where a boy finds his soul.
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Boys are made for adventure. They are meant to encounter their creator, in creation. To explore the wild and experience controlled risk. They don’t just want the wilderness, they need it. It’s inherently part of their DNA.
Sometimes it looks like grabbing the red rider and heading into the woods behind the house, other times reeling in a bluegill. It’s a calling deep in our souls to pursue the dominion of God‘s green earth. Growing up in the hills of The Ozarks, I’m lucky to have had many adventures myself. As Christians, I feel like we miss the mark here, only introducing boys to Jesus within the four walls of the church. We forget Jesus himself went on a 40 day journey in the outdoors before embarking on a two year ministry that changed the world.
This book is meant to blend the two. Grasping all the adventure a coming of age boy feels growing up in the outdoors while standing in awe of a sunset, painted by our creator that demands creation. That inner beckoning we feel to go and explore the natural world is where we feel close to God.
This book is also meant to tell the stories of the people who humbly live lives within that landscape. The genuine, conversational language of every day people and families that live closely together. Units of kinship that experience the realness of this life through highs and lows, but are always there for each other. These are the traits of the Missouri hill folk, who proudly wear that badge with honor.
A note from the author
Austin Miller is an Ozarks native who grew up immersed in the outdoors and carries a deep passion for storytelling rooted in faith, family, and adventure. A devoted husband and father of three, he plays bluegrass music and spends much of his time chasing whitetails through the Missouri hills.
He currently resides on a 200-acre family elderberry farm in southwest Missouri, surrounded by the same rugged landscape that inspires his writing. Austin also co-leads a ministry centered on father-son biblical masculinity in the outdoors and documents many of his adventures through his YouTube channel, Pursuit & Dominion.
Above all, he treasures encountering his Creator in wild places and hopes his stories inspire others to do the same.