A Name of Her Own - (Tender Ties Historical) by Jane Kirkpatrick (Paperback)

About the Book

Based on the life of the first mother to cross the Rocky Mountains and settle in the Northwest, "A Name of Her Own" is the fictionalized account of a real woman's fight to establish a home in a new landscape, to survive in a nation at war, to protect her sons and raise them well, and, despite an abusive, alcoholic husband, to keep her marriage together.

Book Synopsis

Based on the life of Marie Dorion, the first mother to cross the Rocky Mountains and remain in the Northwest, A Name of Her Own is the fictionalized adventure account of a real woman's fight to settle in a new landscape, survive in a nation at war, protect her sons and raise them well and, despite an abusive, alcoholic husband, keep her marriage together.

With two rambunctious young sons to raise, Marie Dorion refuses to be left behind in St. Louis when her husband heads West with the Wilson Hunt Astoria expedition of 1811. Faced with hostile landscapes, an untried expedition leader, and her volatile husband, Marie finds that the daring act she hoped would bind her family together may in the end tear them apart.

On the journey, Marie meets up with the famous Lewis and Clark interpreter, Sacagawea. Both are Indian women married to mixed-blood men of French Canadian and Indian descent, both are pregnant, both traveled with expeditions led by white men, and both are raising sons in a white world.

Together, the women forge a friendship that will strengthen and uphold Marie long after they part, even as she faces the greatest crisis of her life, and as she fights for her family's very survival with the courage and gritty determination that can only be fueled by a mother's love.

Review Quotes

"A truly fine book."
-The Denver Post

"Jane Kirkpatrick has...created her own genre of fiction."
-Statesman Journal

"Impeccably written."
-Romantic Times, Four-Star Review

About the Author

Jane Kirkpatrick is the best-selling author of two non-fiction books and seven novels, including the award-winning A Sweetness to the Soul and the acclaimed Kinship and Courage series: All Together in One Place, No Eye Can See, and What Once We Loved. She and her husband Jerry ranch 160 acres in Eastern Oregon.