Novelist and journalist Fabrizio Rondolini found deserts to be places of renewal -- and that's why he built his far-flung home on the edge of Death Valley. What could have been a typical home-design story in the New York times turns into a tale of an improbably uplifting search for home:

The couple, who have both been married before, have visited many deserts over the years: the Simpson in Australia, the Gobi in Mongolia, the Atacama in South America. But about 10 years ago, when they were going through a rough patch romantically, the desert played a major role in their lives. Mr. Rondolino had had an affair and moved out of the house, and there were, he says, a lot of tears on both sides. During this “crisis” in their marriage, they spent a few weeks in Death Valley.

“We had a kind of emotional breakdown in a place ironically called Last Chance Mountain,” Mr. Rondolino says. “But luckily, this was not our last chance. We came back to Italy, and after a couple of months we were together again. And we decided to celebrate with a week at Furnace Creek Ranch.”