2007
AML Award:
Novel
Presented to:
Coke Newell
For:
On the Road to Heaven
The journey of a Colorado mountain hippie that begins with Jack Kerouac
and a mélange of Eastern philosophies seems unlikely to end in conversion
to the Mormon faith and an LDS mission to Colombia. Yet it is precisely
that contradiction that makes On the Road to Heaven such a valuable
addition to Mormon literature. Part memoir, part conversion story, part
missionary narrative, the novel is unified by the idea that truth is
essential, that it is knowable, and that the search for truth can and should
change the course of one’s life. This idea challenges our assumptions that
it is more remarkable that protagonist Kit West, hitchhiker, pot-smoker,
hippie, can find a place within the LDS faith and culture than that any of
us, with our unique stories and histories, can. This autobiographical novel
illustrates beautifully the idea that it doesn’t matter so much where we come
from as where we choose to be. The Association for Mormon Letters is proud to
present the 2007 Award in the Novel to Coke Newell for On the Road to Heaven.
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