Bernard J. MacDonald spent more than three decades in classrooms before he ever published a novel, teaching special education in Gresham, Oregon, and later training educators across Florida. That career, focused on helping others navigate challenges, quietly shaped the fiction he began publishing in 2010. His first novel, Missing You, is a love story set against the fog of Alzheimer's disease, and it set the tone for a body of work that explores grief, illness, and the possibility of redemption.
Since then, MacDonald has built a small but resonant catalog. Meet Me In Sedona (2011) follows a heartbroken man into the red-rock country of the American Southwest. Infidel: Kafir (2012) is a cross-cultural romance that tests family honor against forbidden love. And Zion: Trails End (2020) tells the story of a terminally ill retired firefighter who interrupts his own end to rescue a stranger, finding an unexpected second chance at life alongside her.
In 2026, that backlist is finding new readers. Writers Way Solutions has released updated editions of both Infidel: Kafir and Zion, the latter retitled Zion: End of Trail. MacDonald recently discussed Infidel on the Writers Way Podcast. The book was also named a finalist in the 2026 Eric Hoffer Book Award.
Across all four novels, MacDonald returns to the same emotional territory: characters facing grief, illness, or cultural pressure, set against the wide-open landscapes of the American West that he knows firsthand through hiking and camping. His fiction reads like a second act, shaped less by literary ambition than by a career spent helping people navigate hard things. This background gives his stories a grounded authenticity that resonates with readers.
The reissue of these novels and the new recognition they are receiving underscore a growing interest in stories that deal with resilience and human connection. MacDonald's work reminds us that it is never too late to pursue a passion, and that the lessons learned in one chapter of life can deeply enrich another. As his novels reach a wider audience, they offer not just entertainment, but also a reflection on the enduring themes of love and second chances.
