A gripping 20th-century historical fiction novel of survival, sacrifice, and the search for redemption.
In 1916, Clessie Bonaparte knows only a life of suffering on her father’s Midwest farm. Following the mysterious death of her Ojibwe mother and enduring her white father’s brutality, a pregnant Clessie makes a fateful decision: she must flee to save herself and her unborn child.
A Journey from the Midwest to the Rugged West Her escape takes her to the untamed landscape of northern Arizona. Haunted by the terrors of her past, Clessie makes a choice she believes is the only way to protect her baby from a similar fate. Retreating into the forest with the intention to vanish forever, her path eventually crosses with Isaac McCaslin, the foreman of a cattle ranch.
Healing and Reckoning As Isaac’s protective nature frightens and beguiles her, Clessie begins the hard work of reclaiming her life and reckoning with the father she left behind and the secrets of her past.
Perfect for fans of:
Historical fiction and 20th-century family sagas.
Native American stories and Ojibwe heritage.
Inspiring stories of survival and female resilience.
Western landscapes and Arizona history.
About the Author
John Lang was born into the Arizona State Adoption System, where he stayed until he was adopted out. At the age of thirteen he was arrested for stealing motorcycles and was sent to New Mexico Military Institute, where he wrote his first poem. Soon after that, he began writing short stories.
After he was released from the Institute he went on to forge a twenty-five-year career as a journeyman pop song lyricist and songwriter in Hollywood, California, writing songs for everyone from Tupac Shakur to Celine Dion, as well as the evergreen hits “Broken Wings” and “Kyrie” for the band Mr. Mister. During that time he continued to write fiction; he graduated from the MFA Writing program at Columbia University in 1992; won the William Faulkner Literary Competition with his short story “Bent Spoon” in 2018; and completed the novel, “All the Darkness Holds,” which was a semi-finalist in the 2024 William Faulkner—William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
“Writing keeps me hinged,’ he says. “It always has. Early on I found that the life of the mind can be just as intoxicating as that of the sublunary world.”
John Lang lives in southern California with his wife and son.
Book Review 1:
"Lang’s debut novel will keep you up at night, long after the reading’s done. From the first page, we are drawn into the horror that is the daily routine of Clessie Bonaparte, a young, biracial woman as she flees cross country to the West at the turn of the 20th century. Lang’s striking depiction of both Clessie’s haunted desperation and the decisions she must make to save herself and protect her unborn child cannot be attributed solely to the author’s significant talent as a writer. Lang clearly brings secrets of his own.” -- Don House, Fine Art photographer and co-author with Sabine Schmidt of “Remote Access;” author of “Buffalo Creek Chronicles: Diary of a Cattle Ranch on the Southern Plains”
Book Review 2:
"All the Darkness Holds is a ruthless examination of the human heart with all of its manifold contradictions. Lang is fascinated by our capacity for both cruel depravity and tender mercies. His is not a despairing vision, but one that believes in the possibility of redemption." -- David Weddle, Author of "If They Move... Kill 'Em! – The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah,” “Among the Mansions of Eden,” writer-producer of “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Strain,” and “For All Mankind”
Book Review 3:
“Lang’s debut novel is darkly haunting, a la Cormac McCarthy. The taut, lyrical prose gives close and thoughtful attention to Clessie Bonaparte’s sometimes-troubling and intimate narrative. All the Darkness Holds also hints at Lang’s other life as a prolific writer of numinous hit songs.” -- Katherine Turman, Journalist, Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, New York Observer, Esquire, and co-author of Louder Than Hell - the Definitive Oral History of Metal
Book Review 4:
“All the Darkness Holds is a deeply compelling story of a young woman’s harrowing journey from unimaginable cruelty and self-doubt to remarkable self-awakening. Lang’s characters and skillful, soulful story-telling will linger in your consciousness long after putting this book down.” -- Richard Page, Singer-Songwriter, Pages, Mr. Mister, CBS-Epic, Capitol, RCA, Blue Thumb Records. Author's principle co-songwriter 1970-2014
