Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847. Now the young mother of two children, Eliza faces a different kind of dislocation; her impulsive husband wants them to make a new start in another territory, which will mean leaving her beloved home and her departed mother's grave--and returning to the land of her captivity. Eliza longs to know how her mother, an early missionary to the Nez Perce Indians, dealt with the challenges of life with a sometimes difficult husband and with her daughter's captivity.

When Eliza is finally given her mother's diary, she is stunned to find that her own memories are not necessarily the whole story of what happened. Can she lay the dark past to rest and move on? Or will her childhood memories always hold her hostage?

Based on true events, The Memory Weaver is New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick's latest literary journey into the past, where threads of western landscapes, family, and faith weave a tapestry of hope inside every pioneering woman's heart. Readers will find themselves swept up in this emotional story of the memories that entangle us and the healing that awaits us when we bravely unravel the threads of the past.

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This is a tough one for me. I think that I was at least a third of the way into the book before I really started to enjoy it. Up until that point it was what I would dub as only okay. After that point, I started to become more interested and the book did hold me until the end. Overall, I'd say that the book pacing was slow and not enough time was actually spent covering the actual realities of when she was held captive. The entire portion of her returning to that area was actually a very minor thing so I felt a bit misled when it came to the book synopsis.

If I were to rate this, it'd be 3/5 stars. It's an okay book, but it really just didn't wow me.




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Letitia holds nothing more dear than the papers that prove she is no longer a slave. They may not cause 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 loathe to leave her settled life for the treacherous journey by wagon train, but she is so deeply in love with her husband that 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.



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American history is full of things that we can celebrate and things that we can mourn. This book has a bit of both to it. Letitia and Nancy are both especially powerful characters that on some level I think that everyone can connect to. There were times where I felt their frustration, wiped away my own tears and shook my head over just how brave, strong and amazing these women were. In some ways, I think that they inspired me to keep going, no matter how hard things get.




I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.
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Four unexpected letters. Four intrepid women. Four lives changed forever.

Spanning a century and a continent, these romantic novellas will lead you on a journey through the landscape of love. Four young women find their lives altered after each receives a letter that sets her on a new path. From a Hudson River steamboat to a lush drawing room, from a carousel carver's workshop to a remote hospital, you'll be swept into the lives of women who are making their way in the world and finding love where they least expect it.

Moonlight Promise by Laurie Alice Eakes
Camilla Renfrew is a highborn English lady fleeing false accusations when she runs smack into love on a steamboat bound for the new Erie Canal. But can this unexpected attraction survive the treacherous journey?

Lessons in Love by Ann Shorey
Marigold Montgomery Bentley writes marriage advice for Kipler's Home Weekly even though she is single. Everyone assumes from the initials that "M. M." is a man. When the editor asks to meet Mr. Bentley, can Merrie come up with a ruse to keep her writing job?

One Little Word by Amanda Cabot
Lorraine Caldwell will lose her family fortune to a reckless cousin if she doesn't marry quickly. When she learns her long-lost brother is alive, she hopes she's found the answer to her problems. What she finds instead is a mysterious carousel carver who turns her life upside down.

A Saving Grace by Jane Kirkpatrick
Grace Hathaway must rescue a dear friend from a remote and notorious clinic that promises healing but delivers only heartache. In a place laced with deceit, where lives hang in the balance, whom can she trust to help her?

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Where to start? I honestly can't say enough good about this book. I loved every single story in it and when I closed the final pages, I was left wishing there was just one more story. The characters are real and they're relatable, no matter which author is behind them. You spend every page cheering them on or shaking your head at whatever they've gotten up to now. They're brave in ways that you and I could only imagine being. Seriously, run, don't walk and get yourself a copy of this book.

One last bit... I just got word that Jane Kirkpatrick is offering a giveaway over at her site! Head on over and check it out!


I received a copy of this book for the sole purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are strictly my own.

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