Jane Kirkpatrick

Warning: Read this one at your own risk, as it is likely to send you down the rabbit-hole bigtime.

Natalie Curtis was a classically-trained musician who became fascinated by the then-forbidden songs of Native Americans. The U.S. government's assimilation policy removed many Native children from their homes and sent them to boarding schools where their native language, music, dances, and religious observances were banned. Curtis finagled a variety of sources, including support from show more then-president Theodore Roosevelt, to finance a years-long project to collect and record these songs and stories before they disappeared, and to present them in a massive book with illustrations by Native artists.

That's the part that will send you down the rabbit hole, since looking for objects and ideas mentioned in passing will lure most curious readers to the computer for a spider-web of searches that will leave Google tattered and smoking.

The printed page, however, does a good job of following Natalie as she is introduced to and ultimately immersed in a geography and culture which she had never known. Along the way, this pampered and emotionally delicate musician finds her own strength and her own healing in her quest.

Kirkpatrick also handles the delicate notion of where to draw the line between research and appropriation -- a dilemma which Curtis apparently also faced. show less

Inspired by the remarkable true story of Mary Gerritse, With Enduring Tides is a compelling tale of resilience, redemption, and enduring friendship set along the rugged Oregon coast in the early 1900s. Based on the life of a real female mail carrier, this beautifully researched novel brings the Pacific Northwest vividly to life with rich historical detail and deeply emotional storytelling. Jane Kirkpatrick has such a gift for bringing forgotten women’s stories to life in unforgettable show more ways, and I loved the strong themes of identity, forgiveness, courage, perseverance, motherhood, faith, and community woven throughout the story.

As Mary faces her mother’s illness, Belle’s longing to stay with her grandparents, and the arrival of a troubled caretaker, long-buried secrets begin to shake her sense of identity. Meanwhile, the women around her struggle with hardships of their own including the demands of homestead life, abuse, lost love, and questions of belonging. Through it all, the friendships between these women and the faith that sustains them shine beautifully.

I especially loved the way the author captured the strength and determination of pioneering women who persevered against impossible odds. The story is emotional, character-driven, and full of heart, with relationships that completely drew me in.

Though it’s the second book in the Women of Cannon Beach series, it can easily be read as a standalone. However, I think I would have appreciated it even more if I’d read the first book in the series.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction inspired by true events and stories centered on strong women, faith, and enduring friendship. I received an advanced copy with no expectation of a positive review. All opinions are my own & provided voluntarily. show less

Something Worth Doing is a riveting account of one woman’s lifetime struggle to improve the rights of women, especially those in the western United States. Any woman, whether married or not, a mother or not, or working out of the home or not can relate to this story. A woman's work is never done, and I'm thankful for women like Abigail Scott Duniway who chose to dedicate so much of their life to a greater cause.
This story, while based on a historical figure and true events, is fiction, but show more it reads more like a biography and less like a typical novel, which I loved. I sped through chapter after chapter, enthralled by the ordinary and extraordinary parts of Abigail’s lie. It captured the struggle, the frustration, and the beauty of a woman's world in the 1800s, particularly in the West.
The work and expectations of women in Abigail's time were outrageous, and yet they persevered, like women often do. And while so many rights have been added to women since Abigail's fight for the vote, the expectations still placed on women to be the perfect mother, the successful boss lady, and still maintain a tidy home continue to be overwhelming. Any woman can see herself in this story. I know I did. When Abigail doubted her desire to keep fighting for suffrage at the expense of time with her family, I saw the modern stresses of women, trying to attain dreams while still balancing the care of their family and home.
So, while this book is historical, it is still so relevant in the insight it provides on one progressive woman's impact on history and our lives today.
Any woman who enjoys historical fiction will like this book. I know I spoke of this story and Abigail to all who would listen!
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions are my own. show less

Kirkpatrick's tale of moving to a remote, nearly inaccessible patch of raw Oregon desert along the John Day River, intent on creating a self-sufficient farmstead, is either a triumph of faith over common sense or a head-scratching decision that sounds romantic on first telling but quickly devolves into a saga of brutally difficult effort.

Imbued throughout with the couple's firm commitment to their Christian faith and to the belief that Divine Providence will guide them on the appropriate show more path, they sell their home in central Oregon and move to the unimproved property, which has no electricity, potable water, or telephone service, and which is can be reached only by air or via a treacherous hillside roller-coaster path generously called a road.

Kirkpatrick and her husband are neither flower children nor tenderfeet. They go into the venture with carefully made plans -- improbable, but carefully made -- and a clear understanding of what it will take to reach their goals. Most readers will end up shaking their heads in amazement that anyone -- particularly a couple in which one partner has significant physical disabilities -- would tackle such a brutally difficult project with so little guarantee of eventual success.

Along the way, Kirkpatrick seques from administrative work with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation to full-time writing, with a specialty in the fictionalized lives of early women pioneers in the area. She and her husband battle climate, wildfire, family upheaval, rattlesnakes, flood, wind, and isolation with a persistance that at borders at times on mania. They also become part of a ranching and farming community that shares their devotion to the land, providing friendship and support.

She gets extra ploints from this reader because of the locale. It helps if the reader is familiar with the area, and it's always a thrill to recognize a place name, a family name, or an event with which one is directly acquainted.

Beyond that, the book is neither a how-to manual nor a fish-out-of-water comedy. There's humor here, and heartbreak, and an honest representation of what it takes to create and sustain a self-sufficient haven on an inhospitable piece of land. Whether the reward is worth the effort is a decision each reader will have to make on their own. show less