ABOUT THE AUTHORJeff Noonan is a Montana native who retired in 2001 as the president of a nationwide corporation. He is married with four children and eight grandchildren. This is his second published book. The first, The Long Escape, told the story of a boy's decade-long odyssey from a world of abuse and poverty to a life with pride and respect. As a young man, Jeff worked as a laborer for farms, ranches, lumber mills, and a railroad. He then served in both the Army and the Navy, retiring from the Navy as a commissioned warrant officer. While in the Navy, he commissioned five ships at Bath Iron Works, worked in guided missile research at White Sands Missile Range, and served two and a half years in Viet Nam operations. When he retired, he was a combat systems officer in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

After leaving the military, Jeff worked his way up from an entry-level technical position to become the executive-vice president of a 900-person corporation with offices worldwide. During this era, he moved two companies into the impoverished city of Camden, New Jersey, in order to provide jobs where none existed. Then he took over a troubled seven-person North Carolina company and turned it into a solvent corporation with over 250 employees. In recognition of these efforts, a U.S. Congressional Committee officially awarded him their 1999 North Carolina Businessman of the Year plaque during a Washington, DC, ceremony.Jeff sold his business interests in 2001 and retired to his hometown where he was soon elected president of the St. Regis Community Council, a position he held for four years.

He was also the president of the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce for two years. He still lives in western Montana.