The Indifferent Stars Above weaves a poignant narrative of Sarah Graves, a young woman on a perilous quest for a new life during the westward expansion of 1846. Joining the Donner Party, Sarah sets out with her family from Illinois to California, but their dream soon turns into a nightmare. Trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by harsh winter snows, they face starvation and unthinkable choices. Daniel James Brown brings this tragic chapter in American history to life, offering an intimate look at the psychology and physiology of survival, underscored by historical and archaeological insights that illuminate the darkest corners of the human spirit.