BY THE MEASURE OF THE SKY
A Novel by Brian Atkins
Some journeys are measured in miles. Others are measured by what we survive.
By the Measure of the Sky is a story of grief, love, memory, and the uncertain course we chart when the life we knew is suddenly gone.
How do you find your way forward when the landmarks of your life disappear?
Ian Mercer knows something about navigating by fixed points.
The stars. A horizon. A bearing taken against something certain.
Life is more complicated.
Haunted by loss and by questions that have never quite been answered, Ian finds himself confronting the people, memories, and choices that have shaped the course of his life. What follows is a deeply human journey through grief, love, family, and the strange ways the past continues to exert its pull long after we believe we've left it behind.
At its heart, By the Measure of the Sky is a story about navigation—not simply across an ocean, but through the uncertain territory of being human.
It asks what we hold on to when certainty disappears, what we're willing to let go, and whether finding our way requires knowing exactly where we're going.
Some distances can't be measured in miles.
Join Me for the Launch
I'm planning a special Mid-Michigan launch event for By the Measure of the Sky—an opportunity to share a meal, talk about the story behind the novel, answer questions, and celebrate the book's release together.
Space will be limited, and event guests will receive a signed copy of the novel.
Event details and tickets are coming soon.
Join my mailing list to be among the first to know when reservations open.
Meet Brian
Brian Atkins is a Michigan author, U.S. Air Force veteran, blacksmith, knifemaker, and father of seven.
His path to becoming a novelist has been anything but direct. From military service during Desert Shield and Desert Storm to careers in technology, project management, real estate, and blacksmithing, his life has been marked by reinvention—and by the understanding that our plans rarely survive first contact with life.
His fiction explores grief, identity, memory, resilience, and the ways ordinary people search for meaning when the world they understood suddenly changes.
By the Measure of the Sky is his debut novel.
