This story begins as Clay Selby, a missionary's son, and his stepsister, Vivian, are enroute from Oklahoma to Alaska to begin a church and school among the Athapascan Indians in 1898. They meet Lizzie Dawson, a young woman who lives in a cabin near the Indian village. They become friends and then are told by the tribal leaders they are to choose to remain in their village by separating themselves from Lizzie who is set apart from the tribe because of her mixed heritage. Vivian and Lizzie find that they have a lot in common. They both are on a journey of reconciliation. Clay busies himself with the construction of the mission building and finds himself separated from both the people he has come to live among and from his heart's longing to be included with Lizzie's friendship.
This is a story of unspoken generational misunderstandings. The characters are honoring and supportive of their beliefs. Will they be able to come together to remedy losses they have already experienced?
This story is very well written and engaging. It is a story of trust and triumph; of longing to belong and finding a whisper of peace.
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I received a copy of this book free from Bethany House Publishers for this review in my own words.