Westering Women is a perfect portrayal of the pioneering spirit. It is a narrative of strength, resilience and grit and the women who dared to step outside the conventions that society had chosen for them in search of something more. They may have set out to find husbands but with each step they found themselves.
Our story begins in 1850s Chicago, a time when emphasis was placed on women being things, not doing them. In making the decision to leave behind their lives in Chicago for California many of the women are running towards something, a future and family, but just as many are running away.
Through both story and writing style the author has demonstrated that it's the journey and not the destination that is important. There is a lot of attention given to the day-to-day monotony and hardship that these people faced on their trek out West, creating a more realistic and less romantic picture of the settlers journey. Facing everything from illness to weather to hostile natives and entitled men, the women encounter trial after trial on the trail. But as they overcome each obstacle they also discover freedom, friendship and their own capability.
I really enjoyed the diversity of characters in the group as well as the growth they each exhibited over the long months. I feel like it really helped to round out the story and create a more accurate portrait of nineteenth-century America. I also really enjoyed the way that the author included specific landmarks and natural wonders that would have made such a trip more bearable and exciting. My favorite part though was probably how the Women and their wagon train went from being a spectacle to being respected, and how upon finally arriving in California they were treated like people and given the choice of what they did next, instead of being treated as a commodity for the miners to acquire.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
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