SOMETHING WORTH DOING
A Novel of an Early Suffragist
by
Jane Kirkpatrick
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Some things are worth doing—even when the cost is great
In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old schoolteacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her—and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote.
Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces.
PRAISE FOR SOMETHING WORTH DOING
“I have long admired Jane Kirkpatrick’s rich historical fiction, and Something Worth Doing is well worth reading! Oregonian Abigail Duniway is a vibrant, fiercely passionate, and determined activist who fought for women’s suffrage. Women of today have cause to respect and admire her—as well as the loving, patient, and supportive husband who encouraged her to continue ‘the silent hunt.'” —Francine Rivers, author of Redeeming Love
“On the trail to Oregon, young Jenny Scott lost her beloved mother and little brother and learned that no matter what, she must persist until she reaches her goal. Remembering her mother’s words—’a woman’s life is so hard’—the young woman who became Abigail Scott Duniway came to understand through observation and experience that law and custom favored men. The author brings alive Abigail’s struggles as frontier wife and mother turned newspaper publisher, prolific writer, and activist in her lifelong battle to win the vote and other rights for women in Oregon and beyond. Jane Kirkpatrick’s story of this persistent, passionate, and bold Oregon icon is indeed Something Worth Doing!” —Susan G. Butruille, author of Women’s Voices from the Oregon Trail, now in a 25th anniversary edition
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An incident in the book that happened to Abigail’s stepmother perfectly highlighted just how much women were under the control of men back in the 1800s, and really centuries before. The stepmother was a widow before she married Abigail’s father, but prior to meeting and marrying him she had a suitor who promised marriage. This man forced his advances on her, but didn’t marry her. She ended up being pregnant, but she didn’t know that before she married Tucker Scott, Abigail’s father. Because un-married daughters could not live in the household of a fallen woman, Abigail and her sisters all had to be married quickly.
Choices were taken away from them just like they had always been.
The best part of this book was the detailed information of how difficult it was for women like Abigail to continue to fight for women’s rights against the incredible odds and the incredible obstacles that were put in her path. One has to really admire her determination, her commitment, her courage, and her strength through the many years she fought the good fight. She wrote books and articles, spoke at gatherings, and had meetings with legislators and important influential men to try to sway them to supporting her cause.
I appreciated the opportunity to learn things that I didn’t know about the suffrage movement. Many of us had been well acquainted with Susan B. Anthony and all that she did. But all of these other women, like Abigail, who fought on state levels had just as much impact on eventually getting the right to vote passed.
While I admired what Abigail did, I had a hard time relating to her as a woman and mother. Too often I wanted a stronger emotional reaction to the internal conflict between wanting to be with her family and her need to go out and do what was called “her work.”
When she left to go on a speaking tour when one of her children was dying there were some logical, and practical reasons, for what she did, but I wanted to feel her heart wrenching as she made that decision. That didn’t happen at that moment in the book. Her emotional reaction was overshadowed by her thinking of the logical reason that she left. Maybe that was her way of coping, but it would have been more realistic to me if she’d had a longer mental debate with herself before landing on the fact that the only way she could handle the impending loss was to look at it with her mind instead of her heart.
Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling and award-winning author of more than thirty books, including One More River to Cross, Everything She Didn’t Say, All Together in One Place, A Light in the Wilderness, The Memory Weaver, This Road We Traveled, and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center.
Her works have won the WILLA Literary Award, the Carol Award for Historical Fiction, and the 2016 Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award. Jane divides her time between Central Oregon and California with her husband, Jerry, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Caesar.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS!
1st: Copy of Something Worth Doing + Oregon Map Bag
+ $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card;
2nd and 3rd:
Copy of Something Worth Doing + $10 Barnes and Noble Gift Card.
SEPTEMBER 15-25, 2020
(US ONLY)
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CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,
or visit the blogs directly:
| 9/15/20 | Character Interview | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 9/15/20 | BONUS Post | Hall Ways Blog |
| 9/16/20 | Review | Jennifer Silverwood |
| 9/17/20 | Excerpt | Max Knight |
| 9/18/20 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 9/19/20 | Author Interview | Librariel Book Adventures |
| 9/20/20 | Scrapbook Page | Story Schmoozing Book Reviews |
| 9/21/20 | Review | It’s Not All Gravy |
| 9/22/20 | Deleted Scene | Texas Book Lover |
| 9/22/20 | BONUS Post | All the Ups and Downs |
| 9/23/20 | Review | Momma on the Rocks |
| 9/24/20 | BONUS Review | The Clueless Gent |
| 9/24/20 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
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I always appreciate a book where I learn new things. I wonder if the things that bothered you about Abigail in regard to her family were historically accurate or if the author just took a guess based on her research… Thanks for the review!
Thanks for stopping by, Kristine. I think the question of whether the things about Abigail were accurate historically is an interesting one. From what I’ve read about the author, she does a lot of research, so I’d guess that information is accurate. In the telling, however, the author could have made Abigail have a harder time with those things than what she did in the book. It would be great if Jane would pop in and tell us. 🙂