Introduction

New York Times bestselling novelist weaves the dramatic story of a freed slave who has lost her husband and her freedom papers and must find a way to survive in the wilderness of the Oregon Territory.

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Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

1. Willa Cather once noted that great stories are driven by “passion and betrayal.” What were Letitia’s passions? What were David Carson’s dreams? Who, if anyone, betrayed her and did anyone betray themselves? If so how?

2. How did Letitia define freedom? How do you define it? Are we ever free from the fear of the unknown and unpredictable? How do you cope with uncertainty?

3. Three women have hopes inside this story. What hopes of Letitia, Nancy and Betsy intersected? Do you share any of these hopes as a contemporary person?

4. History reveals that the Oregon Territory was in turmoil over questions of race: whether to be a free or slave state upon entering the Union and how to “deal” with persons of color already in the territory including African-Americans like Letitia, the Chinese, Indians and Hawaiians. How did these realities affect Letitia’s choices after David died? Is any of this history new to you? Why do you think this part of the great migration west is so little spoken of? How do these revelations inform your lives today or do they?

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