Pioneering in Dugout, Sod House, and Homestead
by Louise Farmer Smith
Upper Hand Press
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
Biographies & Memoirs, History
Pub Date 29 Sep 2017
EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780998490632
PRICE $10.00 (USD)
FTC Reviewed ARC for Upper Hand Press and Net Galley
Description
The pioneering men of the West, daring, and stalwart, live very large in our estimation of ourselves and our country. Davy Crockett and John Wayne are our historic and fictional heroes. The importance of the frontier experience of these men is credited with establishing the very character of democracy. But what about the pioneering women, their wives and daughters who cooked all their meals, faced the same blizzards, crossed the same treacherous rivers, and choked on the sands of the same baking deserts? With evidence from their diaries, this is the story of those women who worked like mules to get their families across the continent.
My Thoughts
This book was slow-ish in the beginning or perhaps that was just me as I was extremely tired when I started reading this last night. Regardless, family history does often start out slow as you have to build an account of people involved. So, I put the book down to start fresh in the morning.
I got up, got my coffee and started to make a true connection with the read. And I am so glad I did. Make no mistake - this book is beautifully written. The book hit the nail on the head with social issues and hardships of American frontiersmen and women. Yes, it’s a pastoral setting. Yes, men made the decisions, while most women complied silently. But, I had no idea of the challenges pioneers approached, until I read this book.
The different recordings of occurrences written by men versus women, I found wonderfully intriguing. Even more so, was the accounts of the asylum and threatened execution. Genuinely fascinating and achingly lovely, are the photos and exchanges of letters shared.
This book clearly makes the reader more aware that every family has stories. There are triumphs, shared sadnesses and there are questions that perhaps haunt. The title, 'The Woman Without A Voice" spoke to me before I even opened the book. And has more so - now that I am finished. A beautiful read about strong human spirit and a courageous woman that chose to tell it.
Photo of Author Louise Farmer Smith