The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

Fact is stranger than fiction. Consider the story of a woman who lost everything and was given a diagnosis of four years to live and decides to mount a horse for the first time in thirty years to ride across the entirety of America. She wanted to see the Pacific Ocean.  

She had never seen a movie or lived with electricity and indoor plumbing. She had an arthritis and a cough. She had little money. She had no map of the country, no flashlight, no cell phone, or GPS. She had no knowledge of the world. She had never traveled. Never seen a thruway. She didn't know how far south she had to travel to find warm weather.

She did have a sturdy Maine Morgan horse named Tarzan and a perky dachshund mix named Depeche Toi. And along the way, was gifted Rex, a Tennessee Walker.

Donning men's clothes, she packed up her bedroll, and with a few dollars set off in the autumn of 1954. 

What Annie Wilkins did have was faith and persistence and a dream--and the love of her four-footed companions. 

Annie found a country filled with people who believed in hospitality to strangers, people willing to care for her and her animals. She found the helpers. 

Annie also found a country on the cusp of huge changes. Cars whizzed by without consideration, people were leery of strangers, a gang harassed her, and newspapers and celebrities lionized her.

Elizabeth Letts has written beloved books including The Perfect Horse, The Eighty-Dollar Champion, and Finding Dorothy. The Ride of Her Life is another triumph, a much needed inspiration in an America that has lost its sense of community. It was a joy to read.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
by Elizabeth Letts
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Pub Date  June 1, 2021  
ISBN: 9780525619321
hardcover $28.00 (USD)

from the publisher

The triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion

“The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv

In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.

Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, they pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities—from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers—a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.

Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt's Search for Freedom and Identity in New York's Greenwich Village by Jan Jarboe Ruseell

 

Eleanor in the Village contends that Eleanor Roosevelt's association with New York's Greenwich Village and the friends she made there had a major impact on the formation of her personal identity outside of her marriage to Franklin. I had hoped to learn details about her activities in the Village.

Jan Jarboe Russell gives readers a brief biography of Eleanor's entire life, which for a reader like myself who has read numerous books on Eleanor and Franklin was a recap of known history. She does give space to the many friendships Eleanor made with Village friends, particularly lesbian friends who were very special to her. She shared her private getaway Val Kill with one lesbian couple, and taught in a school opened one of the partners. A female journalist became her close friend and lived in the White House for a time.

Russell mentions the activities that spurred Hoover to open a secret FBI file on her: support of unions and workers and civil rights activities considered communist or socialist in those days. Pages of those files are still unlocked.

I wanted to know more about her activities in the village. I was disappointed by the lack of depth. Russell mentions that Eleanor knew writers living in the Village, like Thomas Wolfe. I sure wanted to know more about this!

An interesting point is Russell's interpretation of Eleanor's relationships with both lesbian friends, like Lorena Hick, and men she loved, including her body guard, doctor, and Joe Lash. As she does also with Franklin's relationship with Missy LeHand, his 'office wife'. Most biographers admit there is no concrete evidence that any of these relationships were sexual in nature or romantic on the Roosevelts' side. Russell is surer.

What is clear is that after Eleanor discovered her husband's affair with her personal secretary, she formed her own 'families' to love, becoming closer to these people than her own children. 

Eleanor's story of personal growth is inspiring. That the 'ugly' child from a dysfunctional family, whose mother-in-law ruled her home and life, and whose husband betrayed her, turned out to be a respected, world renowned humanitarian leader could be a fairy tale. But there was no magic involved. With dear friends and strength of will, Eleanor transformed her life.

I would recommend this biography to those who are not familiar with Eleanor Roosevelt. In fact, it would be a good first biography for young adults.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt's Search for Freedom and Identity in New York's Greenwich Village
by Jan Jarboe Russell
Scribner
Pub Date March 30, 2021 
ISBN: 9781501198151
hardcover $28.00 (USD)

from the publisher

A vivid and incisive account of a mostly unknown yet critical chapter in the life of Eleanor Roosevelt—when she moved to New York’s Greenwich Village, shed her high-born conformity, and became the progressive leader who pushed for change as America’s First Lady.

Hundreds of books have been written about FDR and Eleanor, both together and separately, but yet she remains a compelling and elusive figure. And, not much is known about why in 1920, Eleanor suddenly abandoned her duties as a mother of five and moved to Greenwich Village, then the symbol of all forms of transgressive freedom—communism, homosexuality, interracial relationships, and subversive political activity. Now, in this fascinating, in-depth portrait, Jan Russell pulls back the curtain on Eleanor’s life to reveal the motivations and desires that drew her to the Village and how her time there changed her political outlook.

A captivating blend of personal history detailing Eleanor’s struggle with issues of marriage, motherhood, financial independence, and femininity, and a vibrant portrait of one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world, this unique work examines the ways that the sensibility, mood, and various inhabitants of the neighborhood influenced the First Lady’s perception of herself and shaped her political views over four decades, up to her death in 1962.

When Eleanor moved there, the Village was a neighborhood of rogues and outcasts, a zone of Bohemians, misfits, and artists. But there was also freedom there, a miniature society where personal idiosyncrasy could flourish. Eleanor joined the cohort of what then was called “The New Women” in Greenwich Village. Unlike the flappers in the 1920s, the New Women had a much more serious agenda, organizing for social change—unions for workers, equal pay, protection for child workers—and they insisted on their own sexual freedom. These women often disagreed about politics—some, like Eleanor, were Democrats, others Republicans, Socialists, and Communists. Even after moving into the White House, Eleanor retained connections to the Village, ultimately purchasing an apartment in Washington Square where she lived during World War II and in the aftermath of Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

Including the major historical moments that served as a backdrop for Eleanor’s time in the Village, this remarkable work offers new insights into Eleanor’s transformation—emotionally, politically, and sexually—and provides us with the missing chapter in an extraordinary life.

Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt by Barbara Brackman

Barbara Brackman is one of my favorite quilt historians and bloggers. I love how she combines history, genealogy research, quilting and women's work, and women's history in her research.

Her newest book, Divided Hearts , arose from her free block of the month patterns on her Civil War Quilts blog. 

Inspired by friendship quilts created between 1840 and 1861, Brackman focuses on women with 'divided hearts', Northern women living in the South, and Southern women educated in the North, or with families divided by the Civil War. 

The twelve blocks represent the most popular pieced quilt designs of this time, frequently found in friendship quilts. The blocks are presented in 12" and 8" sizes. The patterns include patterns for inked signatures.

Blog followers who participated in sewing the blocks and completing the quilt are represented in the book. The variety of interpretations is broad, from reproduction fabrics reflecting those of the mid-19th c. to the use of contemporary fabrics with a modern vibe.

Brackman is a premier quilt historian who created the first collections of existent pieced and applique quilt patterns. Her knowledge on quilt history is outstanding. But she goes further with her deep research into the women who made quilts or owned quilts.

In Divided Hearts, readers learn about twelve women's lives that spanned the divide. Photographs and maps accompany the biographies. History comes alive through these women. Resources are given for those who want to 'read more'.

• Indiana Fletcher, from a Yankee family who moved to the South. Wandering Lover quilt block
• Mary Lyon and Mount Holyoke. (Emily Dickinson attended Mount Holyoke briefly.) Lend and Borrow quilt block
• Constance Fenimore Woolson, a Northern girl who attended school with Southern girls. Friendship Star quilt block.( Read my review a biography of Woolson by Anne Boyd Rioux here.)
• Sarah Powell Leeds, a Quaker teacher. Quaker Pride quilt block
• Charlotte Forten Grimke' was the daughter of a Freeman. Charlotte married Rev. Francis J. Grimke. Francis's father was brother to Angelina and Sarah Grimke, plantation born women who became Quakers and abolitionists. His mother was Nancy Weston, Henry's slave mistress. Cross and Crown quilt block. (I first read about Charlotte in Lift Up Thy Voice: The Grimke Family's Journey from Slaveholders to Civil Rights Leaders by Mark Perry.)
• The Petigru Sisters, Southern women who went to school in the North. Mary Petigru Chestnut and Sue Petigru King had a contentious relationship. Mary Chestnut's diary is quite famous. Madame's Star quilt block
• Caroline Russell Seabury, a New England educator who taught in the South. Chimney Sweep quilt block.
• Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, Teddy's beloved mother. The Southern Bullochs summered in the North. Southern Cross quilt block.
• Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was born in Kentucky and her family were Confederates. Lexington Belle quilt block
• Elizabeth Keckley and Anna Burwell. Keckley was a servant in the Burwell household. She became Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker and trusted friend. Carolina Lily quilt block.(I first read about her in Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly : The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave by Jennifer Fleischner.) 
• Emily Wharton Sinkler was the daughter of a Philadelphia lawyer who wed a Southern man. Double Star quilt block
• Emma Willard and her 'every-widening circle' is represented by the This and That quilt block.

Each block includes instructions and examples. Various settings are offered: straight setting; alternating with double nine-patch blocks; on-point with sashing and applique; on-point with pieced border; on-point as a wall hanging of five blocks. A Gallery of finished quilts completes the book.

Quilters will have fun making the quilt their own. You don't have to be a quilt maker to enjoy reading the history and biographies of these amazing women.

Read Brackman's blog post about her book at
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2020/04/my-new-book-divided-hearts.html

I was given a free egalley by the publisher. My review is fair and unbiased.

Divided Hearts, A Civil War Friendship Quilt: Historical Narratives, 12 Blocks, Instruction & Inspirations
Barbara Brackman
Book ( $29.95 )
eBook ( $23.99 )
ISBN 9781617458880
eISBN 9781617458897

I made Brackman's previous BOM patterns for Hospital Sketches and Austen Family Album.

Hospital Sketches by Nancy A. Bekofske

Austen Family Album by Nancy A. Bekofske

Educated by Tara Westover

My library book club's August read was Tara Westover's best-selling, critically acclaimed memoir Educated.

Westover's life makes for page-turning reading, but the abuses she suffered in the hands of her family actually gave me nightmares. Her mentally ill father's paranoid beliefs ruled the family. As Mormons, her mother submitted to her husband's authority. The parents would not send their children to public school and were inept at homeschooling, so the kids educated themselves. It was lucky they even survived as the father also feared the medical establishment and even the most horrendous of accidents were self-treated.

Westover can write and she gave her life story a narrative arc, but I was not glad to have read this book. I was upset by what most of us would consider the mistreatment of the children. I wondered if Westover's story would be held as an example of how anyone can pull themselves up from ignorance and poverty to become a best-selling novelist with a Ph.D.,  justifying blame on those who are mired in poverty and dead-end lives. As a mother who homeschooled our son from seventh grade through high school graduation, with a rigorous and thoughtful education plan, I didn't care for the Westover's dad using his daughter's success as a vindication of his non-schooling homeschooling.

What I did admire was Westover's honest portrayal of her struggle to grow and find her own life without losing her family and how the family dynamics kept her tethered to her past. It is hard enough to leave one's faith community and family in our self-actualization journey. Westover's constricted, narrow, world and her father's radical Mormonism was all she knew and it was hard to assimilate into mainstream Mormonism. Friends, boyfriends, professors, and finally mental health counseling supported Westover on her journey. Her success was rooted in her native intelligence and desire to learn, but she was helped by many along the way.

Our book club had a terrific discussion that could have gone on past our designated hour. The book engaged us on an emotional level, some repulsed, some found it reflected experiences in their own lives, and some thought Westover's story was one of hope and success.