Westering Women

I’ve read a few of Sandra Dallas’ other novels (including The Diary of Mattie Spenser, which I adored) and was so excited to see she had another one coming out. I am fascinated by stories like these and love how she makes the stories of women living 150 years ago so relatable to us today.

Maggie is fleeing an abusive husband when she signs up to travel west, across the Overland Trail, with a duo of preachers who intend to carry women to marry and civilize the miners in California during the Gold Rush. For many in the party, such a dangerous crossing and uncertain future beat what they were leaving behind in Chicago. I found Maggie to be an endearing character and I couldn’t stop crying during several parts of the book. Dallas writes so convincingly of the plight of poor women in the 19th century and really conveys how few choices were open to them.

I loved how this group of women grew stronger and more confident, and were brave enough to carve out their own destinies using the few tools at their disposal. Dallas writes emotional and empowering novels about women for women, and this was no exception. I enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book!

It’s 1852 and Maggie sees adds all over Chicago for suitable women to move to the gold town of Goosetown. Eager to escape her past and start again, she packs up her daughter and gets ready to make the trip. But she’s not alone, 43 women are joining her, all eager to have a second chance at life. The journey is harder than anything they could have imagined and during that trip, the women become family and learn they are not alone at all. A remarkable story that surely played out hundreds of times comes to life under Dallas’s Pen

Westering Women is Sandra Dallas' finest book yet. Dallas captures the essence of life on the overland trail to California in 1852 so accurately, but with one twist. This story is about a wagon train comprised of Chicago women intended to be brides for California miners. The writing is superb. Readers will experience the travails of overland travel: every loss, every jettisoned object, every wrenching wail for the dead. They will also delight with the women in the beauty of the rugged landscape, the promise of a better life, and the kinship of hearty, determined female pioneers. There were many surprises in the story that I wasn't prepared for, including a revelation at the very end. My favorite character was Mary, the infatiguable, inspiring champion of the westward spirit. No one tells a western story like Dallas. Many thanks to J.H. At St. Martins Press for the advance copy..