Jetson's Journey

A Novel by Brock Alston

In local writer, Brock Alston’s debut novel, JETSON’S JOURNEY, readers are introduced to Michael Sawyer, a loving though flawed husband and father of two. A devoted family man who has always carried all of life’s burdens himself, he never allows longtime wife Amber or anyone else to get close enough to share any of the weight. In the two years since their seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, the Sawyer family’s savings have been gutted, and now the San Francisco tech executive has just been let go from his job.

Though always well-intentioned, Michael’s poor fiscal management led to a series of white lies, which then turned into months of more serious lying. He marvels at how quickly his entire life, including his marital circumstances, can change. As tensions crescendo in the Sawyer household, desperate times require desperate measures, and Michael has no choice but to seek financial help. Unfortunately, he turns to a loan shark.

The one bright spot in the family’s life is the adoption of a striking black Labrador Retriever named Jetson. Seventy-five pounds of brown eyes, muscle, and unbounded joy, he reminds the family that second chances do exist.

“I’ve written about a dog who upended a family, so I’m a hard sell on dog books. Jetson’s Journey isn’t one. It’s a clear-eyed novel about grief and second chances that happens to have a great dog at its center—and it announces a writer worth watching.”  —David Elliot Cohen, The New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Dog

Alston deftly interweaves life’s simpler moments with an intense, deeply felt story celebrating human resilience. From serious illness to financial collapse, and from grief to the consequences of a desperate decision, Alston offers readers a propulsive novel that ultimately finds its heart in a small town called Franklin, Tennessee, where Michael—accompanied only by Jetson—begins the patient, ordinary work of rebuilding a life. With gut honesty, JETSON’S JOURNEY elevates the universal experience of loving a dog to an art form, and pleasantly becomes a portrait of the place that takes him in.

Ahead of publication, the novel was accepted into the Williamson County Public Library’s Heritage Collection, a permanent archive of works by notable Williamson County authors.

Brock Alston writes contemporary literary fiction. He began his debut novel, Jetson’s Journey, before he’d ever set foot in Tennessee—then followed the book there. The novel arrives September 15, 2026, from Natchez Press, alongside its companion novella, Riverspook. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Alison, and a very real dog named Jetson. Join Brock, Jetson and fellow Williamson County book and Dog lovers, for the book’s launch night: Tuesday, September 22, 6:30 p.m. at Landmark Booksellers on East Main for a reading and book signing – and of course, photos with Jetson!

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For more information, contact David Carriere at 413-243-6767 or david@davidcarriere.org.