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A camp canopy lit by string lights among dark trees at night

From the road

The trip, as it actually looked

No crew, no camera bag — just a father, a ten-year-old, a converted truck, and a phone. Snapshots from the nearly month-long journey that became On the Healing Road.

The film

Eight minutes of the road

Shane cut this himself from the footage they shot along the way — the rig, the miles, the country, the two of them. It is the beginning of the road the book walks all the way down.

Shane and Conor together above the water in Austin, Texas — the opening image of the film

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The route

Follow the road they took

Seven stops from the Lowcountry out and back again. Pick one — or walk it with the arrow keys.

The brick arches of Old Sheldon Church ruins under live oaks

Stop one · South Carolina

The Lowcountry

Old Sheldon Church, where the road began.

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Sunlight through the brick archway of Old Sheldon Church — Old Sheldon Church — where the road began

It began close to home, at Old Sheldon Church — brick arches standing open to the sky. Then west: barbecue joints and longhorns, wind farms and back roads, rivers worth wading into, and campfires that burned down to nothing.

"The road, he hopes, can give them somewhere to put the grief."

The ruins of Old Sheldon Church surrounded by live oaks and Spanish moss — Old Sheldon Church, under the live oaks

Shane and Conor smiling together, a river and city skyline behind them — The two of them

A black pickup with a rooftop rack parked on a dirt road beside a wind turbine and open farmland — The rig, somewhere west

A campfire burning low in a steel fire ring at a wooded campsite — Burning down

Conor pointing up at a large painted Terry Black's Barbecue sign, mouth open in delight — Barbecue pilgrimage

A boy standing alone in a wide, shallow green river lined with trees — The creek

Shane and Conor laughing together in cowboy hats — Hats on

The truck parked under the South of the Border neon sign on a wet afternoon — South of the Border, in the rain

A camp canopy lit by string lights among dark trees at night — Camp, after dark

Conor squaring up to a life-size bronze bull sculpture — Standing his ground

Conor giving a thumbs up beneath a hand-painted sign reading The Salt Lick — The Salt Lick

Conor standing in front of a stone waterfall wall — Cool water

A longhorn steer with an enormous horn spread, a rider on its back — Longhorn

Shane and Conor riding a utility vehicle down a wooded trail with their dog alongside — Back roads

A fishing rod held over shallow, clear water running over stones — Clear water

Conor mugging inside the open jaws of a mounted shark — Nearly eaten

Camp chairs, a cot and gear set out under tall trees — Morning at camp

A largemouth bass on the line above a sunlit river — The catch

The story behind the pictures

Every one of these has a chapter

The photographs are the easy part. The book is what was happening inside the truck between them.

Discover the book Read an excerpt

Follow the road

Launch news, tour stops, and more from the trip

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