True Sisters

True Sisters

by Sandra Dallas

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: In 1856, the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons) conceived the idea of bringing impoverished converts from Europe to Iowa, where they would be fitted with handcarts instead of ox-drawn wagons. The emigrants would pull and push the carts the 1,300 miles to Salt Lake City. The carts, which were essentially square boxes on two wheels, cost a fraction of the price of wagons, and emigrants would not have the care of oxen or mules.

The idea might have been a good one, but the execution was poor. The carts were not waiting for the converts when they arrived in Iowa. The people had to build the vehicles themselves, and out of green lumber. That not only delayed their departure but meant the carts fell apart as the wood dried. Moreover, supplies were not waiting along the trail for the travelers, as they had been promised. Worst of all, the last two of the five handcart companies left late in the year and were trapped in the snow. More than a quarter of the 575 members of the last company, the Martin Company, froze or starved to death.

True Sisters is about four women, three of them converts, who are members of the Martin Company. They are Nannie, who is traveling with her sister and brother-in-law, after being abandoned on her wedding day. Louisa is married to a church leader, a man she believes speaks for God, although others find him overbearing. Jessie and her brothers hope to find land in Zion where they can farm. And Anne, who fails to convert to Mormonism, has no choice but to follow her husband, since he has sold everything to make the trek to Utah. The characters are fictional, but they are based on journals, stories, and accounts of real women who braved the horror and hardship of the handcart trek, finding faith, friendship, and even joy in the journey.

From the author's website

Review: This book was so incredibly tragic but it parallels what happened in real life.  This story is based on true events but the stories of the women are entirely fiction.  The women are portrayed as such strong women who continued on their journey to reach Salt Lake City (what they called Zion) no matter the weather, the lack of food, the death of family members.  They rarely lost faith or questioned God.  I really liked the women in the story for the most part but I couldn't understand their desire to get to Salt Lake City with all that happened to them.  The leaders kept saying that those strong in faith would reach Salt Lake City. I struggled with trying to be respectful of their religion but I just kept finding myself calling their decisions dumb and the decisions were made by the spiritual elders of the community.  I liked the book in spite of how tragic it was.  The epilogue provided closure but I felt it was a little contrived.

Rating: 4 stars