Review: Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick

 

About:

Some things are worth doing--even when the cost is great

In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old school teacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her--and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote.

Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces.

My Thoughts:

Abigail (Jenny) Duniway was a woman who in her day felt for all women and wanted so much more for her sisters, daughters, and the future women of the world. More than what her late mother had. Something Worth Doing is based on the true story of Abigail who fought for women's rights, especially the right to vote the best way she could, with her written words.

What really impressed was how the author wrote Abigail's feelings and thoughts and how really they are the universal concerns of women. I felt for Abigail, her wants buried by just survival and all the work a women of that day had to do. Concerns of her household, the very real dangers she and her husband faced. The loss of their home and livelihood. The real fears and unconditional love she had for her children. 

Ben, her husband was a good guy. He didn't always understand her, but he did love her. Abigail wanted to be his partner for life, not be treated like another possession. They had their troubles. But what marriage doesn't. Especially when one makes an unwise decision that affects all the family.

I was caught up in this story. I feel the author caught the essence of who Abigail was. She was a woman, wife, mother, suffragist, fighter, and most of all she was a woman of worth. I appreciate all the more what our ancestors fought so hard for and won for us. 

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

About the Author:

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling and award-winning author of more than 30 books, including One More River to Cross, Everything She Didn't Say, All Together in One Place, A Light in the Wilderness, The Memory Weaver, This Road We Traveled, and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have won the WILLA Literary Award, the Carol Award for Historical Fiction, and the 2016 Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award. Jane divides her time between Central Oregon and California with her husband, Jerry, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Caesar. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.