Mystic Sweet Communion [Paperback]

Jane Kirkpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 1998

Set in turn-of-the-century Florida, this frontier saga traces the life of Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, the first English-speaking teacher in the region, as she struggles to teach school in the Seminole Nation and lead Indian families to Christ. Ivy is disliked by tribal leaders in spite of her obvious love for their children, yet she eventually overcomes their resistance and serves as their spokesman in negotiations with the U S government. Already scarred by her mother's tragic death in childbirth, Ivy overcomes her husband's suicide and other devastating disappointments to share her faith with her adopted people and eventually earn their love.

In 1900, Ivy Cromartie Stranahan gives up a promising teaching career to join her husband at the remote New River trading post in south Florida - but she doesn't give up her love for learning or her passion for righting wrongs. In this remarkable story of God's faithfulness and one woman's commitment, Ivy becomes a friend to the Seminole people, their teacher of forbidden English and the Christian faith, and finally, their spokesperson in a time of turmoil.

Like all of us who search for meaning, Ivy yearns to experience the power of faith, understand the limitation of human protection, and learn the importance of perseverance in caring for those we love. She finds them in Mystic Sweet Communion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jane Kirkpatrick is an Oregon author whose work includes the three novels Love to Water My Soul, A Sweetness to the Soul, and Homestead. A Sweetness to the Soul earned the author and publisher the Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center as the "Outstanding Western Novel of 1995." Her award-winning essays have appeared in over fifty magazines and newspapers across the country. She is a clinical social worker, speaker, and teacher. Jane and her husband, Jerry, live on a remote ranch in Eastern Oregon. A Gathering of Finches is the third book in her compelling historical novel series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books; 1ST edition (October 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576732932
• ISBN-13: 978-1576732939
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If you'd like more information about me, please come visit my website at www.jkbooks.com and click on my blog. My dog also has a blog and you can find out what it's like to be Bodacious Bo, too. A monthly newsletter called Story Sparks is my way of sharing books about authors I enjoy as well as commenting on life and love. You'll find out more about me than you probably ever wanted to know! You
One item not listed on my lists of books is my selection included in an anthology called "Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West" published by Houghton Mifflin I also have a piece in Storytellers II, a book published a few years ago by Multnomah Press and a few short selections in Daily Guideposts of a few years back. My first novella, "The Courting Quilt" is part of a collection that made the New York Times bestsellers this past September in a collection called Log Cabin Christmas. The rest of my writing, as they say, is history. Or it was until my first contemporary came out this fall. Called Barcelona Calling, it's the story of a writer who loses her way as she seeks fulfillment thinking she'll find it with fame. It's a laugh out loud book according to reviewers. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites, May 8, 2000

By 

R. Gravely (North Central Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystic Sweet Communion (Paperback)

I read this book because it is about early Florida, the state in which I live. I fell in love with it because it's about characters who jumped off the page and captured my heart and my imagination.

I was inspired and uplifted by the dedication, determination and self-discipline of Ivy Stranahan. She is the purest example of an early feminist. The true story of how she struggled and fought to improve the lives of women and to increase their say in government and in everyday life is every bit as strong as the story of her determination to help the Seminole Indians.

Ms. Kirkpatrick's ability to bring to life early Florida is astounding. I felt I was there. I marveled at the hardships that faced the early settlers of South Florida. I cheered for their victories and cried at their tragedies. Completing this book was sad because I could not longer learn about those extraordinary people. Without a doubt, this book is now on my all-time favorite list!

This was the first, but certainly not the last, of Ms. Kirkpatrick's books that I will read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful blend of history and uncommon literary flair, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mystic Sweet Communion (Paperback)

In previous novels, Jane Kirkpatrick has showed the literary world that she knows people, history, faith, language and the great Northwest. But in her latest work, "Mystic Sweet Communion," the Oregon author reveals she's far from a one-region writer. Intead, she shows an impressive ability to bring to life historical characters about as far from her beloved Northwest as possible.

"Mystic Sweet Communion," the story of woman-for-all-seasons Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, not only establishes Kirkpatrick as being regionally broad but also strengthens her position as the standard setter for faith-infused historical novels.

Frankly, "Sweet Communion" surprised me. "Love to Water My Soul," "Sweetness to the Soul" and "A Gathering of Finches" all benefited from Kirkpatrick's deep understanding of the Northwest. I doubted whether she could bring to life turn-of-the-century Florida with the same realness. I was wrong. "Mystic Sweet Communion" is one of those novels so wonderfully woven with detail that you'd think Kirkpatrick and her family tree were planted there. Instead, the book reflects exhaustive research spawned by her scination with Stranahan, which makes for a wonderful blend of history and uncommon literary flair.

Kirkpatrick's lead character, Stranahan, is a tapestry of faith, ambition and ahead-of-her-time activism. The first teacher in Florida's Broward County, she and husband Frank are among the few people courageous and compassionate enough to reach out to to Seminole Indians along the New River, along which Fort Lauderdale would eventually emerge. She begins as a young woman with small dreams, and winds up being called upon by no less than the president of the United States. In the meantime, she deals with society that suppresses women, legalistic religion that often strays from the grace-filled God it purports to serve and people who, unlike Stranahan, seems content with not questioning cultural norms.

The book's plot isn't particularly deep, nor does it twist and turn with heart-stopping drama. But such constraints are a small, and necessary, price to pay for remaining true to a story about real people, whose value needn't be Hollywood-esque to be admired.

Kirkpatrick develops characters so real that, as you're reading, you get the same feeling you get in a movie theater when you forget you're watching a movie. But Kirkpatrick's greatest asset as a writer goes deeper than both plot and characters, to something even more significant: meaning.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, literary, historical fiction., July 7, 1999

By 

Hope Irvin Marston (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystic Sweet Communion (Paperback)

This delightful historical fiction blends a tender love story with the real life struggles of the Seminole Indians at the turn of the last century. It's a tale of commitment to marriage vows made by two strong individuals willing to support one another in the pursuit of their altruistic goals no matter the personal cost. It's also a story of the Lord's faithfulness. Through these pages roam real characters facing real dilemmas and and living with the consequences of their choices. Memories of Ivy, the heroine, and her determination to secure justice for the Seminoles will haunt you long after you turn the last page. Added to the enticing story line and the various subplots is a unique literary style that's sure to please discriminating readers who savor delicately turned phrases.