A Light in the Wilderness

A Light in the Wilderness
by
Jane Kirkpatrick


My Thoughts:
Oh.MY.goodness! This is one of the most fabulous books I have ever read. I loved the story, the characters, the writing style, and the subject matter -- it doesn't get much better than that!

I didn't realize it as I was reading, but this book is based on the life of an amazing woman who really lived and traveled the Oregon Trail. Be sure to read the Authors Note AFTER you have finished the book. Jane Kirkpatrick has brought life to history. Letitia Carson was an amazing freed slave who accomplished incredible things in her life. I am in awe of her strength and courage, and hope that you will feel the same after you read this.

Of course the book is fiction, but it is so based on facts that it very well could have been truth. I love the way Kirkpatrick adds soul and meaning to the lives of the participants -- because they are much more than just characters.

I don't want to say much about the story because I don't want to give anything away, but I found this book very hard to put down. If you are at all interested in history, this will be a fascinating read.And if you aren't interested in history, this book might change your perspective. Brilliant!

Honestly I'd never heard of the author before, but I've added her name to my list of top ten favorites, and I've added all of her books to my Must Read list!

You can view a trailer for the book here


And you can buy a copy here.

About the Book (from the back cover):

Three very different women. One dangerous journey. And a future that seems just out of reach.

Letitia holds nothing more dear than the papers that prove she is no longer a slave. They may not cause most 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 steeled life for the treacherous journey by wagon train, but she is so deeply in love with her husband and 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 tine trying to impart the wisdom and ways of her people to her grandson. But 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 multilayered story from bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick will grip your heart and mind as you travel on the dusty and dangerous Oregon Trail into the boundless American West. Based on a true story.

About the Author:

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 finalist for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award, and Reader's Choice award, 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. Jane lies in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.