In trying to define Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the U.P.) and its people, words like grit, solitude, and resiliency come to mind. Enjoying brilliant summers and enduring inescapably long winters, the hardy souls who live here have much in common. In "West of the River," Richard Hill reflects on issues from personal relationships and family traditions to hoarding and compulsive gambling. From the wild ideas and rebellion of youth to the regrets and hard-earned wisdom of old age, this collection of stories reflects the experience of living in the rugged but starkly beautiful landscape that is the U.P.