Mary Barmeyer O'Brien

Interesting, page-turner, historical fiction; quick and easy to read. Ms. O'Brien used an interesting technique to write the narrative, moving from the perspective of one character to another, while also incorporating the text of letters that Mary wrote to her mother.

The Powers family survived a harrowing migration from Wisconsin to California and Mary was forced to move from being a submissive wife to a decision-maker as her husband seemed mentally incapable of handling the situation.

How many other families had similar experiences that have never been exposed? Perhaps more than we realize.… (mer)

Bought sight unseen from a catalog, this slim book seems oriented toward “young adult” readers. It’s a collection of short accounts written by (or about) various women who trekked west in wagon trains. Every one of the ten stories has some tragedy: children die or oxen starve or cherished possessions have to be abandoned on the way west. I wonder if this assortment of stories was deliberately chosen for the pathos; there must have been a few women whose travel diaries recorded a pleasant trip from Council Bluffs to the Willamette Valley. Accounts of moderate interest were those of Julia Archibald, believed to be the first non-native woman to climb Pike’s Peak; Clara Brown, a freed slave and a local (Denver, Colorado) celebrity; and Mary Peters Ringo, mother of Johnny Ringo, the gunfighter. A good map of the various journeys in the front matter; the bibliography lists the original diaries and accounts that were excerpted and condensed her. I think anybody with more than a casual interest would be better off with the originals.… (mer)