What do you think?
Rate this book
A Long Way to Go
When her pastor arrives at her doorstep with David Harper, a stranger looking for work, the young widow, Rachel Miller, agrees to provide room and board in exchange for help on her farm. As David prepares to travel with the 1843 wagon train across the Oregon Trail, he proposes marriage to Rachel. Her decision is based on her need for a husband for herself and a father for her three young children. The hardships of the journey west can either bring the couple together or destroy hopes of ever having a marriage based on love. The story of six families bonding throughout the trip creates an authentic view of the early settlers and their ordeals in expanding this nation in the nineteenth century.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
147 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2012
163 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
June Bryan Belfie
34 books48 followersJune Bryan Belfie began writing in her 70s and has written over 30 books. Her Amish novels became best sellers on Amazon Kindle, and her work has been published with both Harlequin and Desert Breeze. You can find most of her books available at Barnes and Nobles in paperback or e-book. Soon audio books will be available for some of her Amish and Christian-based novels.
While raising five children, June found time to take up oil painting and studied under several nationally known artists. She also loved to play the piano, sing, and sew.
In the 1970’s, she and her husband, Jim, purchased and operated a thirty-eight-room country inn located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where she established an art gallery as well as creative workshops, which took place in a converted recreation hall. Professional artists and writers from all over the country presided over classes held during the summer months.
In addition to inn-keeping, Ms. Belfie has owned a restaurant, cooked professionally, worked in a bank, collected and sold antiques, directed a church choir, and served as a Stephen's Minister.
She enjoys her eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, as well as her adult children and their spouses. She now resides in Media, Pennsylvania.
While raising five children, June found time to take up oil painting and studied under several nationally known artists. She also loved to play the piano, sing, and sew.
In the 1970’s, she and her husband, Jim, purchased and operated a thirty-eight-room country inn located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where she established an art gallery as well as creative workshops, which took place in a converted recreation hall. Professional artists and writers from all over the country presided over classes held during the summer months.
In addition to inn-keeping, Ms. Belfie has owned a restaurant, cooked professionally, worked in a bank, collected and sold antiques, directed a church choir, and served as a Stephen's Minister.
She enjoys her eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, as well as her adult children and their spouses. She now resides in Media, Pennsylvania.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 13, 2013
Reviewed for THC Reviews
A Long Way to Go is a sweet, heartwarming historical romance in the same vein as Little House on the Prairie or Janette Oke's pioneer stories. I think fans of these books would probably enjoy this one as well. Being a long-time fan of both, I liked it quite a bit. It is also the ultimate “road trip” story with the bulk of it taking place as the main characters journey to Oregon via wagon train. I always love these types of stories, because I never fail to be amazed at the courage and fortitude of the early pioneers who braved hardships in order to settle this great land of ours. In the author's note at the end, she mentions how she drew on actual journals and first-person accounts of pioneers who traveled the same trail as her protagonists. I wondered all throughout reading the book if this might be the case, because I felt like I was right there on the journey with them. This is an area where Ms. Belfie really excelled in her storytelling, so kudos for that.
The only thing that kept me from giving the book a higher rating was that I felt her character's motivations could have been explored a little better. In this area, the author has a tendency to skim over things rather than delving into deeper POV. I would have loved to see more narrative introspection to help me better understand what the characters were feeling and thinking, as well as a little more descriptive narration to better set some scenes. I noticed that the introspection often consists of rhetorical questions that the character asks of themselves or God (eg. Why am I feeling/acting this way?). In this respect, it would have been nice if Ms. Belfie had dug into her character's psyches to actually answer some of these questions instead of merely asking them and then leaving it up to the reader to speculate. Despite this small deficiency though, the characters were extremely likable.
Rachel is one of the main narrators of the story. She is a widow who has been struggling with taking care of her farm and raising her three children. Knowing that she needs help, her pastor brings around a nice man who is staying in the area temporarily while waiting for the wagon train to head west and is willing to work for meals and a place to sleep. She likes David and thinks he's attractive, but she's a little prickly toward him at first. It's a combination of her wariness of strangers and viewing David as being partially responsible for her sister and brother-in-law leaving her to go west. After all she'd been through with losing a husband and a son, I suppose she was entitled to feel that way, because she wouldn't have had any family left other than her three children had she stayed in Missouri. Rachel does warm up to David fairly quickly though, perhaps a little too quickly. She goes from being adamantly against going west, even after finding out her beloved sister is going, to accepting David's marriage proposal and being OK with moving seemingly overnight. She supposedly did it so her children would have a father and because she was afraid of facing another winter with no male help, but there wasn't quite enough substance to her thought processes to fully understand her quick change of heart. This is one place where deeper POV would have been really helpful. The other is that Rachel is unable to tell David she loves him until the very end of the story, even though from all appearances she cares for and respects him deeply. She goes through some kind of guilt process, feeling bad about loving David and enjoying being married to him, because she somehow feels unfaithful to her first husband. Without that all-important deep introspection, this didn't fully make sense to me, but otherwise, Rachel was a likable and admirable heroine. She weathered the grueling journey quite well and without complaint and treated David very well in spite of her guilt.
David was a wonderful hero. Right from the start, it's obvious that he's a sweet, kind-hearted man. He's a hard worker around Rachel's farm, and her kids take to him almost immediately. In spite of having lost his first wife and baby in childbirth years ago and never having experienced fatherhood, he's extremely good at it. He relates to each of Rachel's children at their own level, whether it's holding and playing with baby Helen, fishing with young Josiah, or giving advice to the teenage Lucinda. He's very protective of his new family as well, always looking out for their well-being. David is very patient with Rachel too, giving her the time and space she needs to recover from her losses and adjust to being married to him, while biding his time in hopes that someday she'll come to love him every bit as much as he already loves her. Since the majority of the book is written from the perspective of two female characters, I have to admit to missing the male POV a bit, but what we see of David through the other character's eyes paints a picture of a gentle, loving man who would be impossible not to adore.
The other primary POV character is Rachel's sixteen year old daughter, Lucinda. She gets her own budding romance with Ben, a young man she meets on the trail. Lucinda is a very well brought up young lady who seems to have a lot of self-respect. She also takes a page from her mother's book by being a hard worker and never complaining. Instead, she willing helps out by cooking, cleaning, caring for her younger siblings, or doing whatever needs to be done. Despite her youth, I had no trouble believing she would make a good wife for Ben. Ben was every bit as nice and wonderful as David, and I really enjoyed this sweet secondary romance.
Overall, A Long Way to Go was a very enjoyable read. The other secondary characters who were a part of David and Rachel's group on the wagon train added flavor and interest. Rachel's other two children, were rendered age-appropriately. Little Helen was cute, while Josiah's exuberance was contagious. I thought the story gave a nice taste of what it must have been like for the early settlers as they made their way to a new home. The author even used a few real-life personages who were key players in this westward expansion as background characters. I also liked how the faith message was a gentle, organic part of the story. All in all, A Long Way to Go was a nice, easy read that was well-written. I would definitely recommend it to fans of this type of story.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
A Long Way to Go is a sweet, heartwarming historical romance in the same vein as Little House on the Prairie or Janette Oke's pioneer stories. I think fans of these books would probably enjoy this one as well. Being a long-time fan of both, I liked it quite a bit. It is also the ultimate “road trip” story with the bulk of it taking place as the main characters journey to Oregon via wagon train. I always love these types of stories, because I never fail to be amazed at the courage and fortitude of the early pioneers who braved hardships in order to settle this great land of ours. In the author's note at the end, she mentions how she drew on actual journals and first-person accounts of pioneers who traveled the same trail as her protagonists. I wondered all throughout reading the book if this might be the case, because I felt like I was right there on the journey with them. This is an area where Ms. Belfie really excelled in her storytelling, so kudos for that.
The only thing that kept me from giving the book a higher rating was that I felt her character's motivations could have been explored a little better. In this area, the author has a tendency to skim over things rather than delving into deeper POV. I would have loved to see more narrative introspection to help me better understand what the characters were feeling and thinking, as well as a little more descriptive narration to better set some scenes. I noticed that the introspection often consists of rhetorical questions that the character asks of themselves or God (eg. Why am I feeling/acting this way?). In this respect, it would have been nice if Ms. Belfie had dug into her character's psyches to actually answer some of these questions instead of merely asking them and then leaving it up to the reader to speculate. Despite this small deficiency though, the characters were extremely likable.
Rachel is one of the main narrators of the story. She is a widow who has been struggling with taking care of her farm and raising her three children. Knowing that she needs help, her pastor brings around a nice man who is staying in the area temporarily while waiting for the wagon train to head west and is willing to work for meals and a place to sleep. She likes David and thinks he's attractive, but she's a little prickly toward him at first. It's a combination of her wariness of strangers and viewing David as being partially responsible for her sister and brother-in-law leaving her to go west. After all she'd been through with losing a husband and a son, I suppose she was entitled to feel that way, because she wouldn't have had any family left other than her three children had she stayed in Missouri. Rachel does warm up to David fairly quickly though, perhaps a little too quickly. She goes from being adamantly against going west, even after finding out her beloved sister is going, to accepting David's marriage proposal and being OK with moving seemingly overnight. She supposedly did it so her children would have a father and because she was afraid of facing another winter with no male help, but there wasn't quite enough substance to her thought processes to fully understand her quick change of heart. This is one place where deeper POV would have been really helpful. The other is that Rachel is unable to tell David she loves him until the very end of the story, even though from all appearances she cares for and respects him deeply. She goes through some kind of guilt process, feeling bad about loving David and enjoying being married to him, because she somehow feels unfaithful to her first husband. Without that all-important deep introspection, this didn't fully make sense to me, but otherwise, Rachel was a likable and admirable heroine. She weathered the grueling journey quite well and without complaint and treated David very well in spite of her guilt.
David was a wonderful hero. Right from the start, it's obvious that he's a sweet, kind-hearted man. He's a hard worker around Rachel's farm, and her kids take to him almost immediately. In spite of having lost his first wife and baby in childbirth years ago and never having experienced fatherhood, he's extremely good at it. He relates to each of Rachel's children at their own level, whether it's holding and playing with baby Helen, fishing with young Josiah, or giving advice to the teenage Lucinda. He's very protective of his new family as well, always looking out for their well-being. David is very patient with Rachel too, giving her the time and space she needs to recover from her losses and adjust to being married to him, while biding his time in hopes that someday she'll come to love him every bit as much as he already loves her. Since the majority of the book is written from the perspective of two female characters, I have to admit to missing the male POV a bit, but what we see of David through the other character's eyes paints a picture of a gentle, loving man who would be impossible not to adore.
The other primary POV character is Rachel's sixteen year old daughter, Lucinda. She gets her own budding romance with Ben, a young man she meets on the trail. Lucinda is a very well brought up young lady who seems to have a lot of self-respect. She also takes a page from her mother's book by being a hard worker and never complaining. Instead, she willing helps out by cooking, cleaning, caring for her younger siblings, or doing whatever needs to be done. Despite her youth, I had no trouble believing she would make a good wife for Ben. Ben was every bit as nice and wonderful as David, and I really enjoyed this sweet secondary romance.
Overall, A Long Way to Go was a very enjoyable read. The other secondary characters who were a part of David and Rachel's group on the wagon train added flavor and interest. Rachel's other two children, were rendered age-appropriately. Little Helen was cute, while Josiah's exuberance was contagious. I thought the story gave a nice taste of what it must have been like for the early settlers as they made their way to a new home. The author even used a few real-life personages who were key players in this westward expansion as background characters. I also liked how the faith message was a gentle, organic part of the story. All in all, A Long Way to Go was a nice, easy read that was well-written. I would definitely recommend it to fans of this type of story.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2015
I have always had a love for books set in the mid 1800's. I've read historical fiction and non-fiction books about settlers of the west. I understand this is a faith based book and I have no problem with that. The problem I have is with the author's preoccupation with a woman's wifely duties. The author repeatedly invalidates what Rachel's feelings are. Not only did she doubt herself, but several people in the book also inferred that she could not be a good wife if she did not 'perform her wifely duties'. Her pastor went so far as to say that women do not understand the depth of a man's needs and how important it is to please them.
Rachel had lost her husband, a child, and was raising three children. When she married David, it was openly a marriage of convenience as was quite common in the time. Her new husband says he understands and respects her need for time to feel bonded with him yet repeatedly makes her feel guilty when her emotions interfere with her ability to be comfortable having sex.... which in turn, many times, results in a lengthy internal monologue about the emotional battle she is facing and she constantly prays that God will help her move on and be a 'good wife'.
I couldn't overlook this. I felt like the author's preoccupation with her giving him sex was such a blatant running theme that it killed it for me. Not only did it feel wrong on a personal level as a woman, it felt wrong that a Christian book would be so caught up in whether or not they will have sex.
Rachel had lost her husband, a child, and was raising three children. When she married David, it was openly a marriage of convenience as was quite common in the time. Her new husband says he understands and respects her need for time to feel bonded with him yet repeatedly makes her feel guilty when her emotions interfere with her ability to be comfortable having sex.... which in turn, many times, results in a lengthy internal monologue about the emotional battle she is facing and she constantly prays that God will help her move on and be a 'good wife'.
I couldn't overlook this. I felt like the author's preoccupation with her giving him sex was such a blatant running theme that it killed it for me. Not only did it feel wrong on a personal level as a woman, it felt wrong that a Christian book would be so caught up in whether or not they will have sex.
February 19, 2019
A Great Read
I loved this book and June Belfie is a great author. I so enjoy reading novels about the Oregon Trail and the things the people go through. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author.
I loved this book and June Belfie is a great author. I so enjoy reading novels about the Oregon Trail and the things the people go through. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author.
March 11, 2019
I've always been interested in reading about The Oregon Trail, so I really enjoyed this book. Though the characters in this book are fictional, the events are actually based on journals, dairies, etc. that were published much later on. I highly recommend this book!
September 7, 2019
A Real Blessing
I have always wanted to be part of a wagon train and to settle a new area. Mrs. Belfie drew me into her beautiful world so easily and with such love. It truly was a blessing to read of a time with real struggles overcome by stalwart and faith-filled people.
I have always wanted to be part of a wagon train and to settle a new area. Mrs. Belfie drew me into her beautiful world so easily and with such love. It truly was a blessing to read of a time with real struggles overcome by stalwart and faith-filled people.
July 17, 2017
Cheesy
A long way to go till this book ends is more like it.
God and Jesus are at every turn in this book. Didn't seem to go into the hardships that they would have endured.
A long way to go till this book ends is more like it.
God and Jesus are at every turn in this book. Didn't seem to go into the hardships that they would have endured.
July 27, 2017
I was there,........ 'Somewhere among the immigrants
on the wagon train, if only in my imagination. It was very real. Very interesting. I wanted to stay longer.
on the wagon train, if only in my imagination. It was very real. Very interesting. I wanted to stay longer.
Read
November 16, 2021I loved this book. It kept me interested and I wish there was another book to go with this.
July 26, 2015
Enjoyable read that needs more depth
This was a sweet story. I appreciated the author's research and could sense the sincerity of her Faith .I felt the plot was very predictable. Good read but that I cannot wait to read the next one did not reach out to grab me
This was a sweet story. I appreciated the author's research and could sense the sincerity of her Faith .I felt the plot was very predictable. Good read but that I cannot wait to read the next one did not reach out to grab me
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews