Five generations forge a path from famine-fueled immigration to prosperity in America. In the 19th Century the Clearys flee Ireland to scratch out survival in rural Virginia, relying on farming, hard work and a connection to the spiritual to move the family forward. With each generation there are new obstacles to face and overcome including less than hospitable land, illness, injury, and threats to family bonds. With a timeline of 1849 to 1974 the family faces danger as the story winds through the Civil War, World War II, and finally Vietnam, each epoch leaving its mark. A fresh crisis hits in the 1930’s when the state seizes mountain land to make way for the Shenandoah National Park. The family’s way of life is destroyed, how will they adapt? And what about the distinctive red oak gracing the property, the burled giant that has been a spiritual presence watching over the family for decades? How does nature find a way when modern life comes calling? "What the Red Oak Saw" is a breathtaking and immersive journey. Norton's care for her characters, her insights on both the strength and fragility of family, and her shimmering prose, amount to a wonderfully rich novel.— Rebecca Kauffman, author of I'll Come to You A beautiful book, well written, that tells the intergenerational story of a family that immigrated from Ireland and settled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The reader follows one generation after another through the Civil War, through birth and death and through the forced move from the mountains to make way for the Shenandoah National Forest. I felt very close to the family as I read for this review. It is a must-read for those interested in the history of those families relocated from the Blue Ridge Mountains.— Peggy Ann Shifflett Appalachian historian and author of Red Flannel Rag: Memories of an Appalachian Childhood and Mountain Women Live On.