Jane Kirkpatricks latest....Everything She Didn't Say a Compelling Story

...from the publisher...  

In 1911, Carrie Strahorn wrote a memoir entitled Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, which shared some of the most exciting events of 25 years of traveling and shaping the American West with her husband, Robert Strahorn, a railroad promoter, investor, and writer. That is all fact. Everything She Didn't Say imagines Carrie nearly ten years later as she decides to write down what was really on her mind during those adventurous nomadic years.

Certain that her husband will not read it, and in fact that it will only be found after her death, Carrie is finally willing to explore the lessons she learned along the way, including the danger a woman faces of losing herself within a relationship with a strong-willed man and the courage it takes to accept her own God-given worth apart from him. Carrie discovers that wealth doesn't insulate a soul from pain and disappointment, family is essential, pioneering is a challenge, and western landscapes are both demanding and nourishing. Most of all, she discovers that home can be found, even in a rootless life.

With a deft hand, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick draws out the emotions of living--the laughter and pain, the love and loss--to give readers a window not only into the past, but into their own conflicted hearts. Based on a true story.

….my thoughts.....

Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Kirkpatrick is an amazing book.  I just put the book down after spending the day between the covers.  Carrie Adell Strahorn was called the "Queen of the Pioneers" or "Mother of the West" by many and once you read her compelling story you will agree.  

What a life this pioneering woman led.  The book begins on the day she married Robert E Strahorn, and from that day on she literally embarked on a trip that would take her by stage, foot, train, steamer and foot on journeys white women never ventured.  She rode in a cow catcher, scaled a mine, laid on her belly overlooking Yellowstone Falls in the snow.  Her stay in a Wyoming hotel with electricity contrasted with harrowing stage rides amid war with the Bannocks.  I can't imagine living up to those challenges but she was determined to be supportive of her husband in his endeavors as an author who wrote travel pamphlets for the Union Pacific Railroad.  He was always one step ahead of settling down with what she longed for; a home and family.  

What really impressed me about Carrie Strahorn was the depth of her faith and perseverance.  I loved that her travels intersected with my own travels and life in Spokane. It was in Spokane that Robert bought the Pines for Carrie and under the direction of famous architect Kirtland Cutter it was redesigned as she wished.  She felt so at home in Spokane, a feeling she hadn't had since leaving her beloved Caldwell.  

As with all of her historical novels, author Jane Kirkpatrick engages the reader into historical events with wonderful story telling and impeccable research.  I highly recommend this book to the reader who loves historical fiction, especially when it includes how this wonderful west was settled.  Many thanks to Revell Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

Sunday Review: The Memory Weaver, By Jane Kirkpatrick

Now and then you come across an author who makes you look deeper into the lives of those between the coves of the books. Jane Kirkpatrick has done this now with all of the books I have read by her. It started with A Light In The Wilderness, spread to the novella A Saving Grace and now with The Memory Weaver. I could have simply read biographies on the strong women of who she writes, but I didn't know about them beforehand.  I simply stumbled onto her books when I signed up to review them with Revell.

I live in the Inland Northwest and love the rich history of our region. Through reading I have mined a treasure trove of stories that are worth retelling future generations.  I admire authors like Jane Kirkpatrick  who keep these stories going. The Memory Weaver is an exceptional book about love, forgiveness and learning to move on from the most tragic situations.

Eliza Spalding Warren was the oldest daughter of Eliza Hart Spalding and Henry Harmon Spalding, early missionaries who came west with Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.  Eliza is distinctive as the first white child born in the Northwest who survived. She is also distinctive for being a survivor of the Whitman Massacre of 1847.  She had been sent to school there by her parents, who remained at their mission at Lapwai, on the Clearwater River in Idaho.  Her story touches me still, several days after finishing the book.

The book toggles between Eliza's life after the tragedy at Waiilatpu and entries of her mother's diary. Her mother Eliza journaled their life at Lapwai among the generous, peace loving Nez Perce tribe. She also recounts the horrific aftermath of the massacre and the subsequent trial of the Cayuse where young Eliza is taken by her father to recount what she saw. The stories of the daughter interwoven with her mother's diary are compelling and bring both women alive once more as only a skilled author can tell.

"A novel allows one to speculate about the why and how one felt regarding an incident. Biography or nonfiction allows one to explore what and when but must hesitate about exploring people's feelings. Novels are meant to move people, to bring emotion to the surface and enable us to see our lives in new ways."  - Jane Kirkpatrick as written in the author interview for The Memory Weaver.  I have been moved by this book and enjoyed researching more about the Spaldings and their role in shaping the Oregon Territory.  I hope to visit Brownsville and Aurora Oregon one day soon as well as the Nez Perce Museum at Spalding Idaho.  Books are powerful and keep our minds sharp. The gift of a good book is incomparable. My recommendation is that you purchase two copies of this book, one to give and one to keep so that you will have someone to discuss this amazing story with.

An Amazing Story of Resilience: A Light In The Wilderness

I just finished reading A Light In the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick. I am interested in the great westward migration of our country through the Oregon Trail and inspired by the grit and courage of all who left so much behind to face the unknown. The journey exacted a toll on men, women and children of all ages. This alone usually gives me pause but consider the danger a free black woman making the trek with a white man.  Our heroine, 26-year-old Letitia is a former slave who carries her freedom papers with her at all times in order to prove to the slave patrols that she is not a runaway. Meet Letitia in this video: http://youtu.be/8Ixka881BNY

 Letitia first met Davey Carson, a red-headed Irishman when she wanted to buy a cow and needed a white man to make the purchase for her. In her situation she could never buy a cow let alone own property.  Trusting him to be an honest man she goes back to see him when she needed a place to stay after being left behind by her former employer for the Oregon Trail. Davey and Letitia become close enough to forge a forbidden relationship and decide to marry albeit illegally, saying vows over the bible. She would not let Davey live as her husband without those vows.

She is a skilled midwife and meets her lifelong friend Nancy Hawkins when Nancy's son knocks on the door to ask Letitia for her services. Nancy's family doesn't see the color of Letitia's skin and when both families are planning the trip to Oregon Territory, they will travel together. Nancy is our second strong woman character in this story.  Nancy doesn't look forward to this move but the love of her husband, who wants to start a new life in Oregon compels her to agree to leave her home and most of her belongings behind.  

Married in the eyes of God but not of man, Tish wants a guarantee that Davey will take care of her and that he will acknowledge her and their children in the event that something happens to him on the trail. A black woman who had so much to lose if he died needed this protection. After many reminders and arguments, Davey brought her a document that he signed, giving her the satisfaction she needed to make the long journey in 1845 as his wife. Wife in name only of course since neither could acknowledge this. She was posing as his employee, his pregnant slave by all appearances. She took her freedom papers and put them with his contract in the bottom of the wooden flour barrel for safe keeping. These papers meant the world to Letitia and she could not afford to have them lost or stolen.

Our third strong woman was Betsy, a Kalapuya Indian woman who is raising her grandson Little Shoot and teaching him the ways of her people so that the ways of their people will carry on in a time when there are few left. Betsy, who speaks English is a guiding force in Oregon for Letitia, teaching her about plants, wildlife and even facts about weather important to new settlers.  Her friendship is also an important part of Letitia's life.  Betsy could move to the reservation with her people but her friendship for Letitia keeps her at Soap Springs near the homestead.

When the trip is over and life begins anew in Oregon, the pioneers adjust to many things, not the least of them is a life without some of their loved ones. I don't want to spoil the details of this good book and invite you to take this journey along with the Carsons. I have read several books about the Oregon Trail and I still don't know how the men and women endured this journey but the faith played a major role in carrying them along. 

In the back of the book the author included great references for further reading. I particularly enjoyed seeing a listing for a Facebook page called: Friends of Letitia Carson. You can see wonderful drawings of some of the locations 
on the trip such as Oregon City, the Dalles before the dam was built and many copies of deeds. 

I have read one other story by Jane, the novella A Saving Grace from  Sincerely Yours: A Novella Collection that debuted April 1, 2014. I recommend this collection too.

Sincerely Yours....Four Times the Fun

I read a new volume of novellas titled Sincerely Yours written by Jane Kirkpatrick, Amanda Cabot, Laurie Alice Eakes and Ann Shorey.  I like the format of the novella; shorter than a novel but longer than a short story. The stories in this book have one thing in common: a letter received that can forever change the life of the one who receives it.

Moonlight Promise by Laurie Alice Eakes is about a young woman from England who lost her rank and fortune and came to America to begin a new life. America offers much at a time when the Erie Canal is about to open, offering a pathway to the unsettled west. Camilla, the heroine, misses her connection and is short on funds when she literally jumps aboard the Marianne, raising the ire of one Captain Nathaniel Black who'd just as soon toss her overboard than provide safe passage to find her friends. Raised as a lady with no skills to make her way, she is surprised at the gifts she receives on this ride to her new life. The captain is beset with troubles of his own as he fights to keep the Marianne and secure his future. He has no use for women and it is a wonder how he allowed Camilla to remain on board. The surprises do unfold though and there are twists that kept me turning pages until the end. 

Lessons in Love by Ann Shorey tells of M.M. Bentley, a marriage advice columnist applying for the weekly newspaper. The arrangement is a happy one until the columnist receives a letter from the editor who wants to meet Mr. Bentley and offer him a permanent assignment for the paper.  The letter was a dream come true for Marigold Montgomery Bentley, who is a young, single woman. Marigold (Merrie) quickly enlists her piano teacher, Colin Thackery to act as her husband, so that she can keep writing for the paper. What follows is a warm hearted story of a time of calling cards, debutantes and balls. Ann Shorey is very good at writing about independent spirited young women, and Merrie is no exception.

One Little Word  by Amanda Cabot is a good story about mistaken identity and how sometimes first impressions can be misleading. Lorraine Caldwell, our heroine stands to lose her fortune if she misses a deadline for marriage and the only prospect is a man that makes her skin crawl. She receives her letter from her  brother, whom she feared dead asking her to come to him by train for some important news. She jumps at the chance to see him  and makes a hasty trip to Lilac Hall.  Lorraine is met at the station by one Jonah Mann, an English carousel artist.  I love historical fiction and this one gave me good insight  into carousels. Fictional Jonah trained under Charles Looff, the renowned carousel carver and creator of the carousel I have ridden on since childhood in Spokane Washington. I loved the history that is interspersed in this story. The next time I go downtown for a ride I plan to take a closer look at the horses he carved so lovingly.

A Saving Grace by Jane Kirkpatrick is a story of friendship. Friendship stemming from the Dalles Oregon to a desolate health clinic on the Puget Sound of Washington State.  Grace Hathaway receives her letter from 8 year old Caroline asking Grace to find her mother, Grace's friend Rebecca. Rebecca was despondent after the drowning death of her husband and after a time, she entered a secluded sanatorium  run by Dr. Linda Hazzard. Dr. Hazzard and her husband offer special treatments that promise to restore health.  Grace intends to visit Rebecca and have her come back to Oregon with her.  Grace meets Mr. Milliken at her hotel and discovers he is surrounded by mystery and a connection to the Sanatorium. This is a story of bittersweet courage on Grace's part in persisting in the challenge of helping her friend Rebecca find her way back to Caroline. After reading this story I looked up Dr. Linda Hazzard and her clinic in Olalla Washington. I am always amazed to learn of things that happened in our state long ago that seem like they couldn't happen but did happen.

I look forward to reading more books by each of these authors.