Something Worth Doing

Starred review from August 1, 2020
History marks Abigail Scott Duniway as a fierce advocate for women's rights; now Kirkpatrick (One More River to Cross, 2019) offers a powerful fictional retelling of the personal and complex underpinnings of this legacy. After years of grief on the Oregon Trail, Abigail is determined to finally prove her strength. But she continually sees her dreams of career, marriage, and family inexorably altered by the men in her life. Devoting herself to a quiet insistence on one woman's autonomy, she is inspired when word of women's suffrage reaches the Northwest. Abigail's world quickly expands beyond the labors of the home to entrepreneurship and activism, but at a cost. As she reinvents herself to provide for her family and fight for the cause, Abigail struggles with her identity as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Kirkpatrick creates an intimate chronicle of her protagonist's inspiring and unwavering belief in her own worth in spite of familial and social adversity while also poignantly capturing the delicate balancing act civic-minded women in the late-nineteenth century had to maintain as they persevered in their advocacy. Combining exceptional research with the exploration of intriguing themes, such as education as a path to freedom, KIrkpatrick's stirring biographical novel honors its real-life inspiration and the relevance of her historical journey.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)