Christine's review
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
I didn't finish this book. When I finally decided to put it down I just bawled like a baby. The author, in the first chapter, writes a descriptive scene of a baby being tossed around while an Indian in the middle tries to chop it with his ax, in the end, the Indian succeeds. If that wasn't bad enough, The main character lets her three children, including three week old baby be taken in by the culture of the Indians. As a mother who has lost a child, I found this extremely unrealistic and upsetting. I have heard it described as a very heroic and inspiring tale, and many of you may be able to read it without the heart wrenching agony I felt.
SPOILER:
I decided to find out how it ends on the internet, and the main character makes it back to her people by following a river over 1000 miles. She is later able to ransom back her oldest son (my guess is about 4 at the time of the kidnapping, and maybe a teen when they get him back), and her sister-in-law.
SPOILER:
I decided to find out how it ends on the internet, and the main character makes it back to her people by following a river over 1000 miles. She is later able to ransom back her oldest son (my guess is about 4 at the time of the kidnapping, and maybe a teen when they get him back), and her sister-in-law.
You really need to read the whole book to understand why she made the decisions she made. It was heart wrenching but her children would never have survived the journey and she chose to give them life.
