• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2019 September #1
  *Starred Review* Leaving Missouri behind in hopes of settling in California, the Stephens-Murphy-Townsend wagon train must brave the unknown to find a safe route across the Sierra Nevada in 1844. Simple joys amidst deep deprivation keep spirits lifted, but as winter approaches, divisions begin to fracture the party. The savage conditions of the frigid mountains threaten their survival, and momentum fails as the group and its families are faced with unthinkable choices of sticking together or forging ahead separately. Amidst the division and challenges threatening to drive them further apart, the settlers find new vulnerability in their darkest hours. Kirkpatrick (Everything She Didn't Say, 2018) tells a harrowing tale based on true events that explores what community meant in the life of a settler, especially the women who were often not given a voice in life-altering decisions. Their journey will teach them new limits and usher in new understandings of identity as wives, caretakers, women, humans. Sibling disagreements, marital stress, faith-based doubts, and fear all bear witness to the gumption, solidarity, and effort vital to the pioneering experience. Kirkpatrick is a commanding innovator of the historical genre with her depth of research and lifelike characters. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling and award-winning author of more than 30 books, including Everything She Didn't Say, All She Left Behind, A Light in the Wilderness, The Memory Weaver, This Road We Traveled, and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have won the WILLA Literary Award, the Carol Award for Historical Fiction, and the 2016 Will Rogers Medallion Award. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.