The Reluctant Pioneer by Julie McDonald Zander

 

Matilda Koontz cherishes her life as a wife and mother on a Missouri farm, but her hardworking husband wants to claim free farmland in the Pacific Northwest. When he suggests selling the farm to trek two thousand miles across the Oregon Trail, she balks.

But in the spring of 1847, Matilda and Nicholas Koontz and their sons embark on a grueling journey westward. Fresh graves testify to dangers of disease, accidents, starvation, and a multitude of hazards threatening her family and her beloved’s dream.

With new struggles at every turn, Matilda wonders how she can protect her sons on such a perilous journey. Will they reach the trail’s end? Will the babe growing inside her womb survive?

When tragedy strikes, the question changes: How can she possibly continue?

This pioneer woman’s journey is inspired by a true story.

 

About the Author

 

As an editor at The Daily News in Longview, Washington, Julie McDonald Zander recalled a brainstorming session to come up with names for a new soft feature about people. Jaded journalists viewed her as a naïve optimist when she offered the trite but true title: “Everyone’s special.” Although it fell flat as a feature title, her offering is a deeply held belief.

After earning a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from the University of Washington, she worked a decade as a newspaper reporter and nine years as a newspaper editor. Then, in 1999, she started my personal history business, Chapters of Life, which has published more than 50 individual, family, business, community, and organizational histories.

She likes to encourage others and share what she's learned along life's journey. She served four years as Northwest regional co-coordinator for the Association of Personal Historians, organized the 2006 APH conference in Portland, and edited newsletters for the Oregon Christian Writers and Women Entrepreneur Organization of Washington. She co-chaired the OCW Cascade Writing Contest, designed the OCW summer conference notebook, and organized the Southwest Washington Writers Conference for four years. And, to keep her hand in journalism, she has penned a column once a week for The Chronicle in Centralia, Washington, since May 2007.

She and her husband, Larry, have two grown children. They live in the Northwest.

 

My Review

 This is a read that makes you feel lucky, these are the people that helped make this country and some gave it all.
A story based on the life of Matilda Koontz Jackson, a real person, but a fictional tale of what might have happened to her.
We are with Matilda and Nicholas and their four sons as they embark on a life changing trip in 1847 from Missouri to Oregon, as they travel the Oregon Trail.
This is such a good read, and I was page turning for answers, these are really hard times, and we don't know whom will survive to the destination.
Be sure to read the epilogue and author's notes, I loved the updates!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher BookGoSocial, and was not required to give a positive review.