MY REVIEW:
“The Memory Weaver” is a historical novel that is a story of trauma, loss, discover, and the journey to healing for several characters within its pages. The heroine, Eliza Spalding Warren not only witnessed the massacre of several people she knew but was also taken hostage by the Indians. After her rescue and the later death of her mother, she experienced nightmares and was not entirely successful in coping with her memories. Her friend Nancy who had also experienced the traumatic event, had her own way of coping. Even Eliza’s husband had some serious problems due to guilt and grief over events in his own past.
“The Memory Weaver” does not move along as quickly and does not include as much dialogue as many novels but it is all the more authentic for that reason. The story moves from Eliza’s point of view to excerpts from her mother’s diaries. I particularly liked the way one point of view transitioned smoothly by the use of similar themes. For instance if one point of view ended with rain, the next one would begin with a reference to rain.
This novel shows how often our memories may not be accurate but can be influenced by so many things such as our maturity, hearing others’ stories about the same event, and even the passage of time. An emotional story of hope and healing, “The Memory Weaver” illustrates the restoration of relationships as each person comes to grips with the past. It is a faith-based story that is well worth the time it takes to read.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847. Now a mother of two, Eliza faces a new kind of dislocation; her impulsive husband wants to make a new start in another territory, which will mean leaving her beloved home and her mother’s grave–and returning to the land of her captivity.
Haunted by memories and hounded by struggle, Eliza longs to know how her mother dealt with the trauma of their ordeal. As she searches the pages of her mother’s diary, Eliza is stunned to find that her own recollections tell only part of the story.
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. Get 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.
Read an excerpt from The Memory Weaver.
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. You can also read her work in more than fifty publications, including Decision, Private Pilot, and Daily Guideposts. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.
