Review: All She Left Behind by Jane Kirkpatrick

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About:

Jennie Pickett is a natural healer, but her dreams to become a doctor in 1870s Oregon put her at odds with the world around her. As she struggles to keep her dream alive, she finds that the road to fulfillment winds past love, heartache, and plenty of surprises along the way.

My Thoughts:

All She Left Behind was a historical novel based upon the real life pioneer doctor Jennie Parish. The story started with Jennie being 17 and newly married, actually at her wedding party. Her husband, Charles has an accident. From that one fateful moment we watch their marriage go through many rough patches, ups and downs, that could either break or make a marriage. From the loss of their daughter, to abuse, to alcohol and drug addictions marked their marriage with some wounds that could never heal. What happens next throws Jennie into a whirlwind she is not sure she will survive.

She finds herself a single mother to her beloved son, but also not sure if she should pursue her dream of tending to folks, especially women and children who are ailing. In her work she meets a much older man and becomes a nurse to his sick wife. 

This story took so many unexpected twists and turns as we travel through Jennie’s life and see her hopes and dreams, but also her discouragements and failures in regards to her family, especially her son. Dealing with alcohol abuse and it’s affects not only for the user but also the detrimental effects on the the family, Jennie hopes to one day not only to become a doctor but to find a cure for people’s addictions to alcohol and drugs. This story is very relevant even to this day as so many people still battle addictions. I felt that Jennie had a noble cause to fight for and I wish she was able to find that cure.

I received a copy of this novel for free. I was not required to post a positive review and all the views and opinions expressed are my own.