My Checkered Life is Luzena Stanley Wilson's classic account of her family's 1849 overland journey and life in early California. Fern Henry draws upon her considerable skills as a researcher to bring to light intriguing details, following the Wilson family from their Quaker beginnings in North Carolina, to their experiences in Nevada City, Sacramento, and Vacaville. This compelling story is enriched with narratives of other gold seekers and settlers, and illustrated with rare photographs, documents, and engravings.