86. Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

listened on Audible
narrated by Lauren Ezzo and Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Unabridged audio (11:46)
2020 Lake Union Publishing
348 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 5/27/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.52 - 3358 ratings
My rating:  5
Setting:  1853 Overland Trail, Missouri to Utah

First line/s:  "The wheel is in pieces.  It's not the first time one of the wagons has lost an axle or broken a rim since our journey began in May, but it's a long, dry stretch with no grazing and it's not a good place to stop."

My comments:  1853.  The Overland Trail.  I loved the writing and the narration of this powerful story.  Much of it was based on real people, native and white, who embarked on the arduous journey from Missouri to Utah and beyond in the 1850s.  The two protagonists, Naomi and John, both have strong voices beautifully written.  Such highs and lows in the narrative, which truly made me realize this was the way of the world during this time period for the people who embarked on this unbelievable trip.  I am impressed and humbled and so glad that I read this book.

Goodreads synopsis:  In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.  
          The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.                   But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.          When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.