A Light in the Wilderness

GIVEAWAY

KIRKPATRICK, JANE
A LIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS

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 settled 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 time 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 multi-layered 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.

My Review:

The kind of book that delves deep into your heart and urges you to make a difference.

Heroine Letitia is based on a real person and that makes this book all the more stirring. I was riveted from the very first page. Enraged, incensed, furious, disgusted...emotions seethed as I devoured her story. Freedom on paper meant very little to a black woman in the 1840s. My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it.

In fact, for all we like to romanticize the settling of the west, it was hardest on the women. They had very little choice but to follow their men. Submit and obey and don't complain. LOL. A 21st century woman would not have towed the line so complacently. Kirkpatrick gives a realistic, moving portrayal of what the westward trek was really like from a woman's perspective.

Letitia's story humbled me. Her unwavering faith in the Lord, her ability to persist despite unspeakable odds in order to achieve her dreams...well, she puts me to shame. A compelling story that will linger with you long after you reach the end.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of A Light in the Darkness please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday September 21 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
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