Discover the stories of twelve women who “heard the call” to settle the west and who came from all points of the globe to begin their journey. As a slave, Clara watched as her husband and children were sold, only to be reunited with her youngest daughter, as a free woman, six decades later. As a young girl, Charlotte hid her gender to escape a life of poverty and became the greatest stagecoach driver that ever lived. As a Native American, Gertrude fought to give her people a voice and to educate leaders about the ways and importance of her culture.

These are gripping miniature dramas of good-hearted women, selfless providers, courageous immigrants and migrants, and women with skills too innumerable to list. Many were crusaders for social justice and women’s rights. All endured hardships, overcame obstacles, broke barriers, and changed the world.

The author ties the stories of these pioneer women to the experiences of women today with the hope that they will be inspired to live boldly and bravely and to fill their own lives with vision, faith, and fortitude. To live with grit.
 

Nellie Cashman: Known across the American West as a nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman, Roman Catholic philanthropist, and gold prospector in Alaska.
Born: 1845 County Cork, Ireland Died: 1925 Victoria, Canada
Aunt Clara Brown: A former slave from Virginia who became a community leader, philanthropist and aided settlement of former slaves during the time of Colorado's Gold Rush.
Born: circa 1800, Virginia Died: 1885, Denver, Colorado
Abigail Scott Duniway: An American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining voting rights for women.
Born: 1834, Illinois Died: 1915, Portland, Oregon
María Amparo Ruiz de Burton: The first female Mexican-American author to write in English. In her career she published two books, and one play-based on Cervants' Don Quixote.
Born: 1832, Mexico Died: 1895, Chicago, Illinois
Luzena Stanley Wilson: A California Gold Rush entrepreneur.
Born: 1819, North Carolina Died: 1902 San Francisco, California
Mother Jones: An Irish-American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent labor and community organizer.
Born: 1837, Cork, Ireland Died: Adelphi, Minnesota
Zitkala-Sa: Also known by the missionary-given name Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, she was a Sioux writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist.
Born: 1876, South Dakota Died: 1938, Washington, D.C.
Mary Hallock Foote: An American author and illustrator. She is best known for her illustrated short stories and novels portraying life in the mining communities of the turn-of-the-century American West. Her extensive personal correspondence was the inspiration for Wallace Stegner's novel Angle of Repose.
Born: 1847 Milton, New York Died: 1938 Boston, Massachusetts
Martha Hughes Cannon: A Welsh-born immigrant, a physician, Utah women's rights advocate and suffragist, and Utah State Senator. She was also the wife of a Mormon polygamist.
Born: Wales, 1857 Died: 1932 Los Angeles, California
Donaldina Cameron: Born in New Zealand to Presbyterian missionary parents, she immigrated with them to San Francisco's Chinatown, where she rescued thousands of Chinese immigrant girls from indentured servitude. She was known as the "White Devil" to the slave traders.
Born: 1869, New Zealand Died: 1968, Palo Alto, California
Charley Parkhurst: Born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst. Disguised as a man, she became a renowned stagecoach driver, farmer, and rancher in California. Her gender wasn't discovered until after her death.
Born: 1812 Vermont Died: 1879, Watsonville, California
Makaopiopio: One of the first Hawaiian immigrants to settle the Hawaiian colony of Iosepa in the salt flats of Utah.
Born: 1815 Hawaii Death: 1889, Iosepa Colony, Utah