Joy Lanzendorfer

If misfortune hadn't gotten in the way, Sandra Sanborn would be right where she belongs--among the rich and the privileged instead of standing outside a Hollywood studio wearing a sandwich board in hopes of someone discovering her. It's tough breaking into acting during the Great Depression, but Sandra knows that she is destined for greatness. After all, her grandmother Vira crossed the country during the Gold Rush and established the Sanborns as one of San Francisco's most prominent families, and her mother Mabel grew up in a lavish mansion and married a wealthy rancher. Success, Sandra feels, is in her blood. All she needs is a chance to prove it. In between failed auditions, Sandra receives a letter from a man claiming to be her real father, which calls into question everything she believes about her family history--and herself. As she tries to climb the social ladder, family secrets lurk in the background, pulling her back down. Until Sandra confronts the truth about how Vira and Mabel gained and lost their fortunes, she will always end up right back where she started from. Right Back Where We Started From is a sweeping, multigenerational work of fiction that explores the lust for ambition that entered into the American consciousness during the Gold Rush and how it affected our nation's ideas of success, failure, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a meticulously layered saga--at once historically rich, romantic, and suspenseful--about three determined and completely unforgettable women﻿.

Right Back Where We Started from

Julian Smith

Jennet Conant

Ishmael Reed

Julia Flynn Siler

Naomi Hirahara

Jane Hirshfield

Mark Wallace

Doug Peacock

Lydia Lee

D. J. Waldie

Joseph Giovannini

Désirée Zamorano

Laura Fraser

Santi Elijah Holley

Monica Corcoran Harel

Jessica Klein

Robert Ito

Adam Mayer

Emma Pratt

Ky-Phong Tran

Matt Twombly

Jessica Zack

The Gimme Shelter Issue

Alta Journal Issue 24

The End of the World as We Know it and Other Stories

Joy Lanzendorfer

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