I’m always thrilled when I discover a great read or one is recommended to me. I have one of each to tell you about today.
The first is 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus

The premise of this story is that the author decided to learn about his grandmother’s past which was always shrouded in secrecy. He discovered some long-hidden journals. At the beginning, he discusses the research he did to make this discovery and then presents the journals of his grandmother, May Dodd. According to the research and the journals, a Cheyenne Chief went to Washington, DC for the purpose of making a lasting peace with the whites. His plan was to ask for 1000 white women as wives for his tribe, thus ensuring his people would survive and the resulting children would be a bridge between the two cultures. May Dodd was among the first group of these ‘wives.’ She kept detailed journals. It is fascinating to see the Cheyenne life from the point of view of a white woman trying to fit in. There are lots of historical facts. This book was well written, poignant and insightful. The author had me truly convinced that all these events took place even though he says the book is fiction. I highly recommend this book and will be looking for others from this author.
The other book was The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan.

The story is of a woman who does hospice in-home care. She is assigned to care for a cranky professor who is an expert in WW2 events. He has written a book about an event during the war that sounds true but no one has ever heard of this event. The nurse reads this story to him. In the meantime, she is dealing with her ex-soldier husband who has served 3 tours of duty and is suffering PTSD. Basically there are three story lines and although none of them are part of the others, they so closely affect each other that the story becomes one story line. The nurse knows that suffering has a purpose. The historian knows that in order to understand a man you must understand his weapons. The vet knows he is damaged but doesn’t know how to be undamaged. There are so wonderful quotes. ‘The power of a promise is proven in times of difficulty, when keeping the pledge is hard.’ ‘Mortality is life’s way of teaching us how to love.’ ‘Anger is a snake that eats its own tail.’ This book is masterfully crafted and a joy to read. Again, I highly recommend it and will be looking for more books by this author.
I’d love to hear what you’ve read that you can highly recommend. You can tell me by emailing me lindaford@airenet.com  or posting on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/linda.ford.90
Talking about books. I have a new series starting soon.

 
The series is Dakota Brides. The first one will be out next week. 
Watched for announcements.