ROAD TO
winona
A sweeping Finnish-American saga of survival and sisu, tracing one family from famine-stricken Finland to Michigan's copper mines and lumber camps. Across generations, love, loss, and resilience carve a legacy rooted in the wild beauty of Winona.
about the author
Shirley Williams
Shirley J. Peterson Williams was born in Hancock, Michigan, in the years following World War II, and spent her earliest childhood with her grandparents, James and Eileen Riippa. She later grew up in a home built on her great-grandparents' farm, surrounded by stories of copper mining, homesteading, and the family's own lumber mill. Dr. Williams went on to build a distinguished career in higher education, serving as a teacher, department chair, dean, and provost. In her later years, she turned her scholarly curiosity inward, researching her own family's history through archives, oral accounts, and childhood memory. The Road to Winona is the result, a tribute to the Finnish immigrants whose courage and sisu shaped the family she comes from.
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Audio book
Step into The Road to Winona through its audiobook edition, where three generations of a Finnish immigrant family come to life through narration that carries the full weight of famine, migration, and hard-won survival. From the shores of Lake Ladoga to the copper mines and pine forests of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, follow Daniel, Marija, and the generations who came after them as they carve a home out of almost nothing. Rooted in real family history and years of patient research, the audiobook draws out the sauna traditions, the immigrant boarding houses, and the quiet, unshakable strength the Finns call sisu that runs beneath every chapter. Whether you're driving, walking, or winding down for the night, The Road to Winona is a story meant to be heard.
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book trailers
our blogs

The Road to Winona: How One Family’s Finnish Roots Became an American Legacy
The Road to Winona: How One Family’s Finnish Roots Became an American Legacy

What Is Sisu? The Finnish Grit Behind Shirley Williams’s Family Saga
What Is Sisu? The Finnish Grit Behind Shirley Williams’s Family Saga

From Sortavala to the Copper Country: Tracing an Immigrant Family’s Journey
From Sortavala to the Copper Country: Tracing an Immigrant Family’s Journey

Writing The Road to Winona: How Shirley Williams Turned Family History into a Novel
Writing The Road to Winona: How Shirley Williams Turned Family History into a Novel
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What they say about us?
...an incredibly raw and moving look at the immigrant experience. The sheer grit of the characters leaps off the page. I couldn't put down the chapters tracking Daniel's journey through the brutal Michigan logging camps!
As someone with Finnish roots in the Upper Peninsula, this story hit incredibly close to home. The author captures the true essence of sisu perfectly. The historical detail regarding the torppari system and life in Puolanka is impeccably researched.
A masterclass in tension and historical atmospheric world-building. Watching Daniel and Benjamin navigate the chaotic bureaucracy of Ellis Island together was a standout moment. It’s a heartbreaking yet deeply inspiring epic.
A breathtakingly powerful narrative. The contrast between the haunting, quiet ghost town in the prologue and the high-stakes corporate exploitation in the early chapters creates an intense, unforgettable emotional pull. Highly recommend!



