A Light in the Wilderness

Jane Kirkpatrick

About the Book:

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. 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 readers’ hearts and minds as they travel with Letitia on the dusty and dangerous Oregon trail into the boundless American West.

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 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. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.

My Review:

A Light in the Wilderness is another great book by author Jane Kirkpatrick. A historical fiction novel that takes place during the Oregon Trail into the boundless American West, taking you through the story of an ex-slave, an Indian, and a woman ready to leave her settled life.

Letitia is finally free, she has the papers saying she is no longer a slave. She knows that whites may not treat her any differently but at least she is free. Davey Carson, an Irish Immigrant cattleman, wants Letitia to come west with him. Nancy Hawkins is tired of her settled life and longs for something new, Ready to set forth on the wagon trail with her husband she loves dearly. Betsy is a Kalapyuya Indian, a tribe that lives in the Willamette Valley on the Oregon Trail, Betsy is the last remnant of this tribe

What will happen to these three spirited women? Will they all become friends? Will they make it to the land where they can truly be free? This is definitely a book you will not be able to put down. I really enjoyed reading the stories of these three women and I hope you will too!!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for my honest review.