MrsK Books: Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick

Jane Kirkpatrick

ISBN: 9780800722319

Publisher's Synopsis:

Season turns to season,

Suspicion turns to friendship,

and fear turns to courage...

Letitia holds nothing more dear than the papers that prove she is no longer a slave. They may not cause white folks to treat her like a human being, but at least they show she is free. She trusts in those words she cannot read--as she is beginning to trust in Davey Carson, an Irish immigrant cattleman who wants her to come west with him.

Nancy Hawkins is loathe to leave her settled life for the treacherous journey by wagon train, but she is so deeply in love with her husband that she knows she will follow him anywhere--even when the trek exacts a terrible cost.

Betsy is a Kalapuya Indian, the last remnant of a once proud tribe in the Willamette Valley in Oregon territory. She spends her time trying to impart the wisdom and ways of her people to her grandson. And she will soon have another person to care for.

As season turns to season, suspicion turns to friendship, and fear turns to courage, three spirited women will discover what it means to be truly free in a land that makes promises it cannot fulfill. This multi-layered story from bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick will grip readers' hearts and minds as they travel with Letitia on the dusty and dangerous Oregon trail into the boundless American West.

MrsK's Review:

All Kirkpatrick fans know that there is always, always a tender-hearted journey promised when ever you open the cover of one of her novels. You are inspired, you are encouraged, you are strengthened, and you will always need to share about the women in her books.

In 1842, "Letitia has imagined the day she would escape... and yet, here she was, her bare feet ready to leave Kentucky soil; and she was going as a free woman." Letitia would be heading to Oregon with Sarah and her family. She would help with the children and her one possession, a cow she had purchased, which would provide milk for the Bowman's children. Once on the trail, Letitia is faced with a personal decision that will lead to a separation from Sarah and a marriage to Davey Carson, an Irish man who promises to watch over and provide for her. Davey is a man who can tell a story that would keep your mind off of any trouble. They are married by a Jewish tinker with Bible verses about blessings being shaken down and pressed together. They break the Jewish wedding glass and they jump the broom as was family tradition for Letitia. Once Davey and Letitia begin their journey out west, well the only obstacle for Letitia is that Davey still hasn't written her contract that states if something happens to him, his property is left for her and any children they might have. Letitia not only has papers stating her freedom, she has always been "free in her thinking, free as a child of God." Letitia will discover that even though she never had anyone "help her being loved to healing," she would be the "Lord's provision" for those on this journey out west.

Nancy Hawkins is a quilter, a mother, and a wife who values the beautiful quilting frame that her husband made for her. Their trip to Oregon would have to wait until the newest baby comes. She is a woman who "notices small achievements to keep from feeling overwhelmed by the every day tasks of living." Faced with heart-ache on the journey, Nancy relies on Letitia's words of faith and friendship,

"They is a time to weep and time to laugh; time to mourn and time to dance.'

I trust that promise, livin' it.

Things go better when weepin' and mournin' pass.

I pray you is goin' laugh and dance again.

I walk beside you 'til you do, Miss Nancy.

You not grieve alone."

With a true and steady peace, Betsy is a woman whose inner strength is found in the wisdom of recognizing that her "Creator continued to provide for them despite so many of her people dying of the aching disease seasons." Her joy is in raising, Little Shoot. Betsy's daily life is in the west where she digs in the damp earth for camas bulbs, relies on her baskets of willow, cedar, and maple bark as essential hand-crafted totes, and teaches Little Shoot the ways of catching salmon. Betsy knows that, "One needed laughter. Like one needed fresh spring water close by. Both, every day, allowed the People to survive the disappointments along the way." Betsy's wisdom will help Letitia build a life in the wilderness of Oregon City. She will learn ways of farming, changing milk to butter and cheese. She will teach the children to pun jab (telling stories with pats and claps of hands) and help Letitia and Davey prepare the land for the seasons to come.

These women are women of faith, women who know how to be strong for each other, and women who will not let others take what is of the highest value:

"I's free to decide how this day gets remembered. I say I let light shine inside me, keep the dark memories out."

Whether it is Letitia's colloquialisms, "Just gatherin' up hen fruit," or scripture passages of strength and hope, or just the inner spirit of women... you will find a determination that women of the west have known for generations. The settings are gloriously described, "The world opened up before her. Like strands of oatmeal-colored yarn furled along bright green prairie grass, the wagons spread out across the landscape, not in a single line but several." And the story line of three lives interwoven into one journey is crafted by one of the best weavers of truth, God's promises, and lives unfolding.

You will recognize the light in the wilderness is forever casting a glow upon your journey,
MrsK

An enjoyable read!
Added to my library shelves and shared with the Booked to Dine book club.

Meet the Author:

Describe the photo or the page it links to

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have been finalists for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award, and Reader's Choice awards, and have won the WILLA Literary Award and Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Many of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections. You can also read her work in more than fifty publications, including Decision, Private Pilot, and Daily Guideposts. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry.

"I received this ebook for free from Net Galley for this review."

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MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)