Taken Beyond the Ohio

by Michael Wescott Loder

Twelve-year-old Marie LeRoy has been trying to be a good mistress to her farming family—now dwelling on the Pennsylvania frontier. But nothing prepares her for the brutal attack on her home and other farms along Penn’s Creek in October 1755. Taken prisoner, she and her friend, Barbara Leininger, live among the Delaware Indians for 3 1/2 years. In this personal and candid retelling of a true experience, Marie describes a hard, sometimes violent life mixed with brief moments of plenty, generosity and friendship. Moved to central Ohio—far from any rescue—she must find the courage to join Barbara and two other prisoners in an escape that can only mean death if recaptured. Historical fiction for ages eleven and older.

276 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Michael Wescott Loder has climbed and caved his way across the United States, been an Air Force officer, photographer, park naturalist--and an academic librarian for more than 30 years. "Wes" has worked in eight different states, but is now retired and lives next to the family farm in a passive-solar, off-grid house he designed himself. There he gardens, writes, plays the Highland Bagpipe and watches his grandchildren grow.

Wes wrote his first childrens' story when he was seventeen, and over the last quarter century has completed 19 other stories. He published his first YA novel, "The Golden Horn," in 2007 and "The Nikon Camera in America, 1946-1953" in 2008. "Taken beyond the Ohio, the Indian Captivity of Marie LeRoy and Barbara Leininger" And "Beetle: The Autobiography of a Virtual Girl" have been published by Hemlock Lodge Press and are available through Ingram and Amazon.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I'm actually distantly related to one of the girls, which started my interest, and this was one of the few books available on their abduction. I was impressed with the author's attention to detail and attempts to recreate an accurate historical representation of what happened. I'm curious now to read the actual narrative itself and learn more about the time period and what other people have had to say about their adventures.