The summer after September 11, a globetrotting mother and her two kids set off on a 12,000-mile road trip through their own country, discovering its majesty and its humanity.

Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America is the story of that American odyssey and the places, people and lessons that revealed themselves as the miles unfolded. The author and her children drove into the heart and soul of the country, embracing it as it embraced them.

The book tells of three journeys tied together by ribbons of back roads and byways. First, it is an American travel narrative that takes readers off the interstate and into the country's small towns and proud, quiet places. It is also a journey of confirmation that American spirit, resilience and resolve are alive and well. Finally, it is a family's exploration of the love and respect, sometimes subtly or silently manifested, that bind a mother and her two growing children to one another.

Ribbons of Highway celebrates America and family and will make you feel good about both.

Lori Hein is a freelance writer and newspaper correspondent. She's a world traveler, marathoner, and former corporate exec.

A magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa Tufts University graduate who studied at the Sorbonne, Lori also holds an MBA.

She lives with her family in the Boston area.