All She Left Behind

GIVEAWAY

KIRKPATRICK, JANE
ALL SHE LEFT BEHIND

Already well-versed in the natural healing properties of herbs and oils, Jennie Pickett longs to become a doctor. But the Oregon frontier of the 1870s is an unforgiving place -- especially for a single mother. To support herself and her young son, Jennie finds work caring for an older woman. When her patient dies, Jennie discovers that her heart has become entangled with the woman's widowed husband, a many many years her senior. Their unlikely romance may lead her to her ultimate goal -- but the road forward is uncertain.

New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick invites you to leave behind your preconceived notions about love and life as you, along with Jennie, discover that dreams may be deferred -- but they never really die. Based on a true story.

My Review:

Jane Kirkpatrick finds the most interesting true-life heroines to highlight in her fictional biographies. Lesser known women who have lived exemplary lives. Women who define the pioneering spirit. Women like Jennie Pickett.

I'm astounded at everything she went through and what she accomplished despite so many hardships. An intelligent woman with a learning disability that made reading difficult who becomes a doctor? That's something to shout about in this day and age but in the late 1800s it's inconceivable. And Jennie's story is rife with emotional ups and downs though she remains steadfast in her faith.

Captivating, compelling and mind boggling. If you enjoy biographies of strong women who make a difference while overcoming insurmountable odds then this is definitely the book for you.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of All She Left Behind, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you leave your email in a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday November 26 2017. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

The Road We Traveled

GIVEAWAY

KIRKPATRICK, JANE
THE ROAD WE TRAVELED

Tabitha Brown refuses to be left behind in Missouri when her son makes the decision to strike out for Oregon -- even if she has to hire her own wagon to join the party. After all, family ties are stronger than fear.

Along with her reluctant daughter and her ever-hopeful granddaughter, the intrepid Tabitha has her misgivings. The trials they face along the way will severely test her faith, courage, and ability to hope. With her family`s survival on the line, she must make the ultimate sacrifice, plunging deeper into the wilderness to seek aid. What she couldn`t know was how this frightening journey would impact how she understood her own life -- and the greater part she had to play in history.

My Review:

Jane Kirkpatrick writes fictional biography that draws on the real lives of courageous pioneer women. This time she takes us along the Oregon Trail with Tabitha Brown. The author`s detailed notes at the end of the book bear witness to the impeccable research that went into writing Tabitha`s story. It`s a raw and honest account of the woman who became known as "the mother of Oregon".

I am awestruck by Tabitha`s grit and determination. Headstrong, iron-willed. Faith-filled. And a heart for service. All qualities that held her in good stead on the arduous journey west. And amazingly she began that grand adventure at the age of sixty-six, a grandmother with a disability no less. But this is also a multi-generational tale -- three women, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter, facing the greatest adventure of their lives together.

A captivating read that has given me a renewed appreciation for our pioneer forefathers (and mothers!) I also feel encouraged to look at my own life journey in  a new light. I might not have to trek across the country in a covered wagon, but there are challenges and hardships that I could do well to approach with the kind of pioneer spirit that Tabby had.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  The Road We Traveled 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 October 23 2016. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

The Memory Weaver

GIVEAWAY

KIRKPATRICK, JANE
THE MEMORY WEAVER

Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847. Now the young mother of two children, Eliza faces a different kind of dislocation; her impulsive husband wants them to make a new start in another territory, which will mean leaving her beloved home and her departed mother's grave--and returning to the land of her captivity. Eliza longs to know how her mother, an early missionary to the Nez Perce Indians, dealt with the challenges of life with a sometimes difficult husband and with her daughter's captivity.

When Eliza is finally given her mother's diary, she is stunned to find that her own memories are not necessarily the whole story of what happened. Can she lay the dark past to rest and move on? Or will her childhood memories always hold her hostage?

My Review:

This fictional biography of Eliza Spalding Warren is a sobering read. I've come away with a new appreciation for the tenacity of the pioneering spirit. And the women in particular.  Every aspect of their lives was determined by the whims of a man, be it father or husband. Their men boasted grandiose dreams and expected the women to scurry around taking care of all the practicalities to make those dreams possible.

Eliza just never seemed evenly yoked. First with her father who tried to control her future without regard for her own wishes and then with a husband who fought his own demons in soul-destroying ways. As if that isn't enough to cope with she is dealing with her own turbulent past. Talk about courageous. Determined. A true overcomer.

Jane Kirkpatrick has a distinctive flare for words that convey depth and meaning even in the simplest of phrases. Like this: "We don't recall the detail in our stories; we remember the experiences." Profound, right? Made me stop and think and then ponder some more. I didn't totally get it until I finished reading Eliza's story. Now I have a glimmer of understanding and don't those words just fit so beautifully with the title, The Memory Weaver?

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of The Memory Weaver 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 October 4 2015. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

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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Sincerely Yours : a Novella Collection

GIVEAWAY

KIRKPATRICK, JANE
CABOT, AMANDA
EAKES, LAURIE ALICE
SHOREY, ANN
SINCERELY YOURS : A NOVELLA COLLECTION

Four unexpected letters. Four intrepid women. Four lives changed forever.
Spanning a century and a continent, these romantic novellas will lead you on a journey through the landscape of love. Four young women find their lives altered after each receives a letter that sets her on a new path. From a Hudson River steamboat to a lush drawing room, from a carousel carver's workshop to a remote hospital, you'll be swept into the lives of women who are making their way in the world and finding love where they least expect it.

Moonlight Promise by Laurie Alice Eakes
Camilla Renfrew is a highborn English lady fleeing false accusations when she runs smack into love on a steamboat bound for the new Erie Canal. But can this unexpected attraction survive the treacherous journey?

Lessons in Love by Ann Shorey
Marigold Montgomery Bentley writes marriage advice for Kipler's Home Weekly even though she is single. Everyone assumes from the initials that "M. M." is a man. When the editor asks to meet Mr. Bentley, can Merrie come up with a ruse to keep her writing job?

One Little Word by Amanda Cabot
Lorraine Caldwell will lose her family fortune to a reckless cousin if she doesn't marry quickly. When she learns her long-lost brother is alive, she hopes she's found the answer to her problems. What she finds instead is a mysterious carousel carver who turns her life upside down.

A Saving Grace by Jane KirkpatrickGrace Hathaway must rescue a dear friend from a remote and notorious clinic that promises healing but delivers only heartache. In a place laced with deceit, where lives hang in the balance, whom can she trust to help her?

My Review:

A classic novella collection. Great authors deliver timeless stories brimming with delightful historical details and captivating romance.

While I enjoyed the letter angle that binds these stories together I was struck by another similarity that resonated with me even more. Each story explores the historical expectations placed on women. The heroines chafe against the restrictions of the day in order to make their way in the world. It's mind blogging when contrasted to our modern day viewpoints. As much as I love to read historical fiction, I wouldn't want to live there!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Sincerely Yours : a Novella Collection 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday May 25  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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