Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Daughter's Walk: a woman's suffrage story

Just before the turn on the 20th century, when woman's suffrage was at its infancy, Clara Estby must join her mother to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City in order to save her family's farm.  Her father has recovered from diphrheria but he cannot find enough work to pay the mortgage.  Clara's mother, Helga, agrees to make the walk, advertising the new reform dress for the sponsors which shows a woman's ankles, for the sum of $10,000.  In leaving with her mother, Clara must resign her position at Stapleton home and will most likely not be able to find employment once she returns.  Several poor decisions and illnesses prolong their arrival to NYC but the Estby women are not typicaly women of their day.  Will they make it in time to save their family?

Returning to their home in Spokane, they find that tragedy has struck.  Plans for the future hang in limbo and Clara must find work.  Through her job as a secretary and her employers, Clara seeks to find a place of belonging and to fill the emptiness in her heart.

Based on a true story, The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick tells the story of an independent woman paving the way for women today and her time away from her family after she is told some of the family "secrets".  The end of  each chapter leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen to Clara next.  I literally flew through the almost four hundred pages.  I grieved with her mother and felt like I was right there with Clara every step of the way.  The author does an excellent job breathing life into the historical characters and making the history come to life during a time of American history I know very little about.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.  However, don't expect a story that is filled with examples of the family's faith in God.   You won't find it.  God is mentioned in the book but almost as a brief afterthought which was somewhat of a disappointment. 

This book is available on Amazon.com and christianbooks.com.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Beyond All Measure

Shortly after the Civil War has ended, Ada is penniless and all alone.  Her mother died years ago of consumption and her father has recently passed away, leaving Ada with no home, no prospect of marriage, and nothing to live on. Ada boards a train in her home of Boston and travels to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee to become a companion to Lillian Caldwell.  The only skill Ada brings with her is her ability to make hats like her mother did.   Ada is determined to open her own business as a milliner in order to have the funds to return to what is familiar to her and live a life that does not included playing the part of a servant.

However, Ada didn't consider that she might actually care for Lillian nor did she dream she might meet someone who could change her plans.  Wyatt Caldwell, Lillian's nephew, is probably the best looking man Ada has ever seen.  What man would put his dreams on hold to come to Tennessee to make sure his aging aunt was well taken care of? However, Ada has been betrayed so many times that it is difficult for her to trust.  Can Ada let go of her past and learn to trust both God and Wyatt?

The author, Dorothy Love, attempts to weave the story of two people who carry pain from their past--Ada's from her father and ex-fiance, Wyatt's from the Civil War.  However, I do not feel that the character's struggles are well developed enough to allow the reader to truly empathize with either.   Most of the book is a nice easy-going story about the relationship between Ada and Lillian and Ada and Wyatt.  Scattered throughout the story are peeks of the conflict between Ada and her father and her perceived "ruining" of her life.  It was a  good story but not one that I would want to pick up again.  Most of it was quite predictable leading the reader with little reason to read past bedtime which is what I would have liked to have seen.  Although written as part of a series, this book easily stands alone.

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love is available on Christianbooks.com and on Amazon.com.