A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick

About the Book

★★★★★
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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 loath 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 multilayered 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.

A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick took me back to my Oregon-Trail-playing, elementary-school days and it was quite a pleasure to read. Spanning from civilized Missouri to the wilderness of Oregon with plenty of hardships in between, Kirkpatrick’s novel follows closely the documented life of Letitia Carson. Letitia is a free woman trying to make her way in a world determined to view her as only a slave. Her path crosses with two other women with distinct circumstances, and as the story unfolds, the three women personify various roles women occupied in the 1840s. They admirably struggle with issues of justice, equality and the uncertainty of the future, facing their obstacles with incredible faith, perseverance and bravery. As a whole, their narrative is beautifully captivating, historically accurate and transports readers into the everyday experience of the time. I really enjoyed Kirkpatrick’s A Light in the Wilderness and recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction (especially if it's based on actual people).

Thanks to Revell Reads, I received a copy of A Light in the Wilderness and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

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. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at her website.