Customer Reviews

A Mending at the Edge (Change and Cherish Historical Series #3)

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A Mending at the Edge finishes Emma's story. Now living in the Aurora Colony in Oregon with her four children, she's still trying to live life on her terms, while also serving the colony and taking care of her family. The lessons she learns are increasingly hard, but Emma faces them all with courage and strength. After finally getting a house in which to raise her children, she loses the right to raise her own sons. Despite working long days there, there are people who still hold her previous mistakes over her head and judge her based on them. But Emma finally discovers what she values most and what home really means. Again this book resounded powerfully within me. Emma is often angry at God for giving her a life different than the one that she had hoped for. At first, she keeps trying to put her feet on the same path toward the future she wants, but when she accepts and embraces the present that the Lord has given her, she blossoms. Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis is a future I never thought I would face and one I still rail at God for giving it to me. Emma's life is full of lessons for me about faith, acceptance, and love. This is an absolutely terrific series.

Emma Wagner Giesy left hope in Missouri along with an abusive spouse and disapproving parents to bring her two preadolescent daughters to a safe environs in Aurora, Oregon Territory. Her supportive uncle brought her other two to safety. However, so far Brother Keil has not approved a house for the Giesy brood. This has increased Emma's despair that she desperately tries to conceal from her four children.

As Brother Keil stalls letting a separated woman settle down without a man to protect her and her children, new arrivals flood the community. Emma's faith in the Lord sending her to this new religious commune is the right thing for her and her offspring is all that keeps her going.

The third Aurora mid nineteenth century tale (see A CLEARING IN THE WILD and A TENDERING IN THE STORM) is a superb historical that stars a strong heroine whose spiritual beliefs keep her from giving up to the despondence that engulfs her. However, MENDING AT THE EDGE is much more as Emma (the author says was a real person) begins to participate with others in the community coming out of her self-imposed isolationism. Readers will appreciate her journey to belong as Jane Kirkpatrick provides a profound Americana tale that showcases people trying to live their dreams.

Harriet Klausner

A Mending at the Edge, I now realize is a series beginning with A Clearing in the Wild and followed by A Tendering in the Storm. Although I read the last first, it did not detract from the story for the author has skillfully woven in the past events pertinent to this story. Set in 19th century Oregon, the story is based on the true life of a woman named Emma who finds herself estranged from an abusive husband and living in a commune that both restricts and protects her. I loved Emma's independence, her strong will, and her compassionate heart, seen often in the story, but I especially liked how she befriended another woman who came into the commune for a short time with her children. She, too, had the heart of a lioness, the strength of will to overcome that which she could not change, one being her dwarfism, and to bear it all without complaining. A woman's lot in Emma's day would be unthinkable to most women today and many of us would not, if shoved back into those times of female oppression, be able, as Emma did, to carve out a life of our own. Emma thought she'd left hope behind, but, in truth, she never really ever lost it. Eunice Boeve, author of Ride a Shadowed Trail www.euniceboeve.net

A MENDING AT THE EDGE satisfyingly concludes Jane Kirkpatrick's Change and Cherish trilogy, based on the true-life story of Emma Wagner Giesy, a strong-willed woman who seeks to find her place in a restrictive Christian colony in Oregon during the mid-1800s.

If you haven't read the first two installments, stop here and begin with book one, A CLEARING IN THE WILD. These novels are much richer as a series than they are as stand-alones.

In A CLEARING IN THE WILD, we're introduced to Emma, a teenage girl in the Missouri Bethelites community who rebels against gender roles and longs for adventure. She wangles her way to accompany her husband, Christian Giesy, on a trip west to explore possible new locations for the colony --- historically, the only woman to help found a communal society in this time period, Kirkpatrick tells us.

The second novel in the series, A TENDERING IN THE STORM, is written from two points of view --- Louisa Keil's and Emma's. It finds the feisty Emma living in the Washington Territory with Christian and little ones Andy and Kate. Readers will enjoy seeing Emma's gifts unfold and watching her grow as a woman of faith and as a mother who deeply cares for her children. Her mistakes, however, will cost her dearly.

A MENDING AT THE EDGE finds Emma and her four young kids back with the repressive Bethel colony, after escaping from her abusive second husband Jack. Although offering her shelter and work at the colony, its mercurial and autocratic leader, Wilhelm Keil, is clear that Emma must do what she can to reconcile with Jack.

Kirkpatrick weaves information about women and divorce during this time period into the storyline, and continues her exploration of gender roles as she has throughout the series. Divorce, we discover, while not impossible, would likely result in Emma's dismissal from the colony. Divorced women of that time in Oregon also lost custody of their children, the author tells us.

However, as Emma labors in the colony and her work is credited towards the community for goods she wishes to acquire, Jack shows up and threatens to use his privileges as her husband to claim goods for himself that she has earned. And shockingly enough, the community does not protest, as he is her lawful husband. For the modern reader, Emma's situation and those of other characters introduced later in the story provide a startling realization of how women's rights were not protected in this era, and how little recourse females had if they were abused by their husbands. Kirkpatrick is a clinical social worker, as well as a novelist, which may explain her knowledgeable grasp of this plot thread.

Things smooth out a bit when Jack leaves, and Emma is free to press for the building of a home for herself and her family. However, to remain in the community, Emma finds that she must give up more than she ever dreamed. Will her sacrifice be worth the pain it will cause? Readers may find her decision shocking, but the author casts Emma's actions in the context of her time period, which aids understanding.

Kirkpatrick paints an intriguing portrait of a woman who chafes at the conventional and longs to live an extraordinary life. Emma's creativity is repeatedly stifled, but she finds ways to use conventional means (crafts, quilting) to express her gifts in unusual ways. Her impetuousness often has consequences, especially her unfortunate marriage to Jack, but she has matured since book one and learned patience and tact. These things help smooth her path as she finds a way to become a part of the colony yet remain true to herself. Emma also learns that even as she grieves the loss of family members she loves, she is able to reach out to others in need and help them heal.

I appreciated how Kirkpatrick helps the reader at every turn to understand the story, from the cast of characters at the beginning (an extensive number by book three) to the rich historical details, for which she includes a glossary of terms and German words used by the colony.

Readers fascinated with Emma's story will find information in the author's notes about the Western colony founded by German Americans as it is remembered today. Kirkpatrick notes that it is possible to visit the novel's historical village of Aurora (population 600) and the Colony Museum today. She has also written a nonfiction book about the colony, its quilts, music, food and culture that will be published in the fall of 2008.

Fans of the Change and Cherish series will appreciate A MENDING AT THE EDGE and the forthcoming nonfiction title, which provide more windows into this fascinating and sometimes shockingly restrictive community and this time period of the Old West.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

I have read the entire series of the Change,and Cherish Historical Series. In this final book, Emma comes into her own. She has gained wisdom through her trials. She has lost many people along the way. In this book, she shacks free from danger, but there is a price to pay. I just loved this series, as I have all of Jane Kirckpatrick's books. But this one is different. I find myself drawn to Emma, maybe because I have been through several of her trials.

Don't miss this lovely conclusion to the Change and Cherish series. A Mending at the Edge honors the American West and the roles of women who endured the hardships of the trail. This novel will inspire readers to choose hope in life. This reader highly recommends A Mending at the Edge. And be sure to read books #1 and #2 so you can learn more about Emma.

All of Jane Kirkpatricks books are excellent. Wish I hadn't read them so I could real them now.

What a wonderful ending to this most interesting story of Emmy's life.I didn't want the story to end. PLEASE JANE make more of your books available in Kindle version. I have read all of them and waiting for more. THEY ARE TRULEY GREAT.

Based on diaries and historical records, this novel is a fictional account of the life of Emma Wagner Giesy, the only woman sent to the Oregon Territory in the 1850's to help found a communal society. She came as part of a German-American Christian community based in Missouri. The group founded Aurora, Oregon, creating a commune focused on their Christian faith and supported by agriculture and domestic crafts. The story is told from Emma's viewpoint. Escaping an abusive husband, she is given protection and support by the group but her role, along with the other women, is very narrowly defined and decided by the men. A large part of the story is her struggle for personal expression while also satisfying her yearning to be part of the community.It is also an interesting story of the personalities and politics of the group, the tension between creating a faith based community and an economic unit. This novel is part of a series but stands alone very well. The Oregon setting was especially interesting to me but it is well written and a fascinating story with broad appeal.

what can I say? Jane has done it again with this wonderful series. i have read every series she has written so far and even tho I love them all, this is by far my favorite. Maybe it's because I live about a mile from where Willie's grave is (and Christian's) but I have always wondered about the story behind the families that settled here on the willapa. I live in menlo, WA and nearly all of my husbands family grew up here, along the river, so everyone was excited about these books. I have shared them with everyone. I hated to see them end. (as i do with all her books) I enjoy Jane's books because they take me back to a time when people really struggled to settle the lands. Jane makes History so much more interesting than I thought possible. I can't wait for her next books. love ya Jane