A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick

Not much is more relaxing after a long day than opening a book and taking a time travel back to the 1800's. I know the time was tough, but I enjoy the history found in most of Jane Kirkpatrick's books. She makes history come alive with her rich research and grand storytelling.

I might have been a bit partial to Davey with him being Irish. I was glad that he had compassion on Letitia. I can't imagine the restrictions back then on being a minority or immigrant and what they faced if they broke the "rules" and fell in love.

Letitia never fell into "victim" mode. Instead, in my opinion, she embraced the unfairness and chose to make the best of it. She was courageous and bold. As I was reading, I kept thinking of how I don't think I could be so bold. She was never truly accepted anywhere. Not by her government, not by society. I liked how close her friendship was with one other lady.

This book left me stuck in the 1800s for a little time afterwards because I couldn't stop thinking about it. The cover is beautiful too!

______________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Sincerely Yours by Jane Kirkpatrick, Amanda Cabot, Laurie Alice Eakes, & Ann Shorey

Imagine getting a letter that changes your life.  That's exactly what happens throughout each of these short stories.  The history that is involved in these stories is also very interesting.  I find the time frame of these stories fascinating and really capture my interest.

I have read many books by each of these authors.  I always look to read the books that are by these ladies because I know they can never disappoint me!  I didn't like one story over another.  Since each story was different, they each had something different to offer the readers. I liked the humor and romance.

I think the challenge that plagues novellas is how to make the story develop in such a short time frame.  Some stories end up feeling not pulled together or rushed.  However, I never felt that way about these.  I felt they were well-developed and ended at just the right time.

_______________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

One Glorious Ambition by Jane Kirkpatrick

I can only begin to imagine how much time this book took to research and write.  Jane Kirkpatrick had to have spent countless hours pouring over much information and trying her hardest to condense it into an interesting fiction book that is full of correct, historical facts.  I like that about her.  I love to learn, but sometimes I don't like reading textbook facts from books.  It's much more fun to learn great historical records from a fiction book and then to go back later and research it some more.

Being a music therapist and working a lot with the mentally ill, I found Dorothea Dix to be an amazing woman in her advocacy for the mentally ill patients and their care.  You can see that through her life, God had prepared her to be used for this cause.  He gave her all the knowledge that she would need and placed her at the right places at the right times to be a voice for the mentally ill patients.

I like how this book focuses on the different years of her life.  I feel like our younger years define much of us and to leave that information out would have been a disservice.  She learned a lot from her earlier years, which led to her being used as she grew older.  Her home life was not one to be desired, but she is a huge example of someone who turned it around and let God do something amazing with her life.  What a testimony!

_____________

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.