Reviewer's Bookshelf: The Memory Weaver by Jane Kirkpatrick

Book Summary (Goodreads): 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.

My thoughts...The beautiful cover of this novel was what initially made me interested in seeing what the story was all about.  Stories that include Native American interaction intrigue me as well, so that sealed the deal.  What I found as I read was an interesting, biographical journey of Eliza Spalding Warren.  This is not my typical style of book, but I was able to appreciate Eliza's physical, emotional, and spiritual journey that was detailed in this story.

This novel is not your typical Christian fiction, in that it really does read more biographically, and it was based on the true story of the Spalding and Warren families, along with other families who went out west as missionaries.  Only a few of the details and letters were fictionalized.  While there were some moments of intensity, it didn't have that rising action and falling action, that includes a building up of tension and climax, that most fictional stories have.  There was very little romantic tension between Eliza and Andrew.  I felt the loss of some much anticipated action.

On the other hand, the writing style did let you see inside all of the struggles and thoughts of Eliza.  She had endured much in her life, from the time she was a child until she was an adult.  I honestly had tears in my eyes as she faced the demons of her past and felt peace.  That aspect of the plot was written excellently.  

When I finished this book, my impression was that it was well written, and I loved the resolution that the main character experienced.  The places and people were very well researched, and it showed in the writing...but not in a way that I felt overwhelmed by text that was way too wordy.  If you like historical fiction that reads a lot like a biography, you'll love this book.

**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.**