Change and Courage Series

  • Not available on this site at this time. Please visit the Aurora Colony Gift Shop to purchase. The people of Bethel, Missouri, seek to live with simplicity and generosity, existing in the world of the 1850s but remaining set apart from its distraction and vanities. Rather than finding peace in the would-be utopia, spirited young Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of a culture that values conformity over independent thought, especially women. When Emma’s outspoken ways growing skepticism lead to a clash with the colony’s beloved leader, she finds new opportunities to pursue her dreams of independence. But as she clears a pathway West to her truest and deepest self, she discovers something she never expected: a yearning for the warm embrace of community.  Based on a true story. The first book in the Change and Cherish trilogy. Awards:
    • Finalist, 2006, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA)
    • Finalist, 2007, WILLA Literary Award, Historical Fiction, Women Writing the West 
    Other books in this series: #2) A Tendering in the Storm, #3) A Mending at the Edge Reviews:  "A Clearing in the Wild is a joy to read as a coming of age story, a story of the western frontier, or as a spiritual quest. It satisfies on every level."—Historical Novel Reviews "A Clearing in the Wild is Jane Kirkpatrick at her finest. The story is quickly paced and engaging from the first to the last. One of the most difficult tasks for a writer - and Kirkpatrick's specialty - is to contemplate the lives of real and to re-create a believable episode in those lives that is accurate yet interesting, to both inform and entertain. The dialog sings masterfully with perfect tone, building characters and pushing the storyline in succinct phrasing that never overstates.  Emma Wagner Giesy's story feels a genuine as if she herself were telling it." —Nancy E. Turner, best-selling author of Sarah’s Quilt and The Water and the Blood Price includes shipping and handling.
  • Not available on this site at this time. Please visit the Aurora Colony Gift Shop to purchase. A story of tender truths about a women’s desperate efforts to shelter her family. Emma Giesy, a strong-willed German American, believes her young family will thrive in the light of their newfound freedom, after she and her husband branch off from their close-knit and repressive religious community in the spring of 1856. Determined to raise her children on her own terms, Emma suddenly finds herself alone and pregnant with her third child, struggling to keep her family secure in the remote coastal forest of the Washington Territory. With loss and disappointment as her fuels, she kindles a fire that soon threatens to consume her, making a series of poor choices that take her into dangerous relationships. As clouds of despair close in, she must decide whether to continue in her own waning strength or to humble herself and accept help from the very people she once so eagerly left behind. Rich with historical details and vivid characters, A Tendering in the Storm poignantly gives voice to a mother’s fears for her family and a women’s search for her truest self. Based on a true story. The second book in the Change and Cherish trilogy. Awards:
    • Winner, 2008, WILLA Literary Award, Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market), Women Writing the West 
    • Finalist, 2008, Christy Award, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
    • Finalist, 2009, Oregon Book Award, Portland Literary Arts Organization
    Other books in this series: #1) A Clearing in the Storm and #3) A Mending at the Edge Reviews:  "Jane Kirkpatrick again proves herself to be one of the finest writers working in historical fiction today. In A Tendering in the Storm, Kirkpatrick applies her usual meticulous research and rich period detail to give readers a wonderful story with strong, unforgettable characters. Beautifully and thoughtfully written as always, this novel will capture your attention, your imagination, and your heart."B.J. Hoff, bestselling author of the American Anthem series, An Emerald Ballad series, and Harp on the Willow "An excellent sense of place and time period...with historical details...that don't get in the way of good fiction or interrupt the flow of the narrative. A difficult balance and one that Kirkpatrick admirable achieves."FaithfulReader.com Price includes shipping and handling.
  • Not available on this site at this time. Please visit the Aurora Colony Gift Shop to purchase. “Of all the things I left in Willapa, hope is what I missed the most.” So begins this story of one woman's restoration from personal grief to the meaning of community. Based on the life of German-American Emma Wagner Giesy, the only woman sent to the Oregon Territory in the 1850s to help found a communal society, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick shows how landscape, relationships, spirituality and artistry poignantly reflect a woman's desire to weave a unique and meaningful legacy from the threads of an ordinary life. While set in the historical past, it's a story for our own time answering the question: Can threads of an isolated life weave a legacy of purpose in community? Based on a true story. The third book in the Change and Cherish trilogy. Other books in this series: #1) A Clearing in the Wild, #2) A Tendering in the Storm Reviews:  "Jane has a gift for breathing simple beauty into the lives of remarkable historical women characters. In A Mending at the Edge, Emma comes off the page and shows readers an unforgettable picture of a very unique Oregon community. I love living within view of Mt. Hood even more now that I better understand those who shaped the tenacious beginnings of this region."–Robin Jones Gunn, author of the bestselling Glenbrooke Series and the Christy Award-winning Sisterchicks novels "In A Mending at the Edge, Jane Kirkpatrick completes the literary quilt of the Emma Wagner Giesy trilogy, piecing together the historical fabric of Emma's personal story with that of the Aurora Colony. Emma's efforts to find a house–and a home–in this communal society in Oregon once again reflect the conflict of individual and community needs represented in Kirkpatrick's earlier two works in the Change and Cherish Historical Series. Based on a solid historical framework of the Aurora Colony and the broader social, political, and cultural landscape of the 1860s, Kirkpatrick offers a story of hope and achievement that captures the spirit of giving, sharing, and receiving central to 'mending' within a communal settlement."–James J. Kopp, communal historian and Board Member of Aurora Colony Historical Society Price includes shipping and handling.

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