Description: Either she and her children would emerge from that wilderness together, or none of them would…
In 1774, the Ohio-Kentucky frontier pulses with rising tension and brutal conflicts as Colonists push westward and encroach upon Native American territories. The young Inglesby family is making the perilous journey west when an accident sends Philip back to Redstone Fort for help, forcing him to leave his pregnant wife Clare and their four-year old son Jacob on a remote mountain trail.
When Philip does not return and Jacob disappears from the wagon under the cover of darkness, Clare awakens the next morning to find herself utterly alone, in labor and wondering how she can to recover her son...especially when her second child is moments away from being born.
Clare will face the greatest fight of her life, as she struggles to reclaim her son from the Shawnee Indians now holding him captive. But with the battle lines sharply drawn, Jacob’s life might not be the only one at stake. When frontiersman Jeremiah Ring comes to her aid, can the stranger convince Clare that recovering her son will require the very thing her anguished heart is unwilling to do—be still, wait and let God fight this battle for them?
My Thoughts: Reading this, it did not take long for me to realize that this was going to be one of Lori's best novels. Despite my feelings about Clare in the beginning (more on that later), the level of conflict and grief was already well established within the first pages, promising an enthralling read.
There is no end the heartache within this book. Even at the end, after the characters have learned the novel's lesson, there still remain tender wounds that only a faith in God can keep sealed. Nearly every character has a backstory of pain that only God can heal, no matter how much time has gone by. The intersection of conflicting cultures required very in depth research that is apparent in every detail and strained conversation.
The Christian moral to the story is also well instituted and applied without coming off as merely a fictionalized sermon. Instead, the theme is woven into each character's interactions with both Clare and Jeremiah in a way that is abundantly realistic.
When it comes to Clare, my one complaint for the novel was her attitude in the first portion of the book. From the moment the reader enters her POV, she is negative, refusing even to return her husbands' declaration of love or to put any thought behind her new daughter's name. Though I understood that her mind was set on finding Jacob, her behavior still made it difficult to fully sympathize with her. However, by the time she encounters the Shawnee, Clare's heart has changed for the better, and the rest of the novel (including those scenes with Jeremiah in the beginning) made up for most of my irritation with her.
I have provided an honest review after having received a copy of this book through Litfuse.
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