WHERE THE LOST WONDER by Amy Harmon

This is probably one of the saddest, happy, stories I have read in a very long time. I will put it up there with ONE FOR THE BLACKBIRD ONE FOR THE CROW and THIS TENDER LAND. Both are favorites of mine.

Two quotes from this book that really seem to touch me: That’s what hope feels like: the best air you’ve ever breathed after the worst fall you’ve ever taken. It hurts.
Transcendence is a world, a place, beyond this one. It’s what could be.

This book is about families who cross the US from Missouri to California. All they endure along the way. The many perils they had to face. The lives lost. The births of new life and the love of a man and woman.

The man, John Lowry, who is half white and half Pawnee Indian. He lived with his dad and step mother after he lost his mother. He never felt truly loved or that he belonged. I have to believe that Jennie, his step mother, did love him. She was kind to him and taught him to read, write and his numbers. I believe she was a very kind woman. His dad, John, was kind of a cold man but I believe he also loved his son. He had a way of keeping his feelings to himself, but when it came down to John Lowry leaving he was sad to see him go. He figured he would not be coming back there but moving on to make his own life.

The woman, Naomi May, was in the wagon train heading to California. The first time she met John Lowry she was sitting atop a barrel in town wearing a yellow dress. It was an instant attraction. She was a widow who had only been married three month when her husband took sick and passed away. She had known him her whole life and married him at the young age of 18. But she was not married long enough to get use to the idea and was back with her parents where she helped her mother with her many brothers. It had been her husband’s idea for them to all go to California. Thus her in-laws were on this journey also.

This book takes you through all the things you would expect from such a hard journey and some you may not expect. I felt like I was in the wagon, walking beside it, on the road, going through all the many ups and downs this family, the Mays, went through. They saw so much and went through so much. It was such a hard way to travel you will appreciate the fact that you didn’t live back then. In 1853, Naomi’s life changed forever. She loses so much and goes through so much that you will wonder how she endured it. The losses she faced were horrible. Deep pain and so much loneliness in the middle of nowhere. But she had found love with John Lowry. They did get married and he was a good man.

This story is told by John Lowry and Naomi in alternating chapters. Each tells a story that will both make you believe and break your heart. It will leave you breathless and hopeful. Happy and sad. It’s done with so much reality that you will feel the heat from the sun and the cold from the snow. The heat from the hot springs and the freezing cold from the lakes. The things these people go through to get across the plains to start a new life are hard. Some turn back. Some die. Some lost their minds. It was a very hard life for sure.

Reading the author’s note at the end sheds a lot of light on this book. Some of the characters are real people. Real people who existed. Who you will love and who you will feel a closeness to in many ways. There are some characters you will hate. Some who are just cruel. Both white and redskin. Some are just mean. But most are kind and caring and help each other. Most have hearts. It proves to me that all people are human no matter where they come from. Empathy is priceless and helps more than being cruel.

This is one of those stories that will stay with you for a good long time. A historical book that is timeless.

Thank you #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, #AmyHarmon for this ARC. This is my own review told from my heart.

A huge 5 stars and the highest recommendation to all..