Reviewed by: Diane Ash, retired teacher and current church librarian from the Federated Church of Sandwich, Illinois

Introduction

Book or Media Title:

Everything She Didn’t Say

Author or Producer:

Jane Kirkpatrick

Publisher or Studio:

Revell

Publication or Release Date:

2018

Format:

Print book

Length (i.e., 350 pages, 1 hour 45 minutes, etc.):

341 pages

OVERVIEW

Readers of historical fiction will most likely enjoy this well written and well researched novel by Jane Kirkpatrick.  Based on Carrie Adell Strahorn’s memoir Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage 1877-1880 and 1880-1898, this novel follows the travels and explorations of the west by Carrie and her husband Robert Strahorn who was also an author and railroad tycoon.  Together they leave her family home in Marengo, Illinois and spend the next 30+ years of their marriage exploring the west mostly for the Union Pacific railroad with whom Robert was employed.  He wrote many pamphlets, articles, and books describing the geography and natural wonders of the west and the possibilities for railroad expansion.  Carrie also kept her own journals and wrote articles about women’s issues and what they could expect to experience should they accompany their husbands to the northwest.

In the novel we follow Carrie and her husband on their adventures and encounters with Native Americans, natural wonders such as Yellowstone and Crater Lake, and the frustrations they experience in planting towns for the railroad.  Carrie’s life is an amazing journey of heartache, disappointment and learning.  Her husband is strong-willed and she often struggles to stay in her “happy lane” as she follows him from place to place.  Loneliness and family are important values that resonate throughout the book.  Carrie’s faith and the church, along with her determination to always look for the positive, help her during all her many difficult situations.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5):

4.5

Suggested Audience:

Women who love historical fiction of the American west based on actual characters.

Christian Impact

Faith and the importance of church and church family are present throughout the book.

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