Freedom to Endure

With the newest installment to the Freedom series, Kulczyk (Freedom to Forgive) provides an engrossing tale of love and loss in late-1800s Oregon. Meadow is a young, isolated, abused woman determined to protect her young son from the tempestuous, mercurial moods of a violent husband she never chose to marry. Drew is a young doctor who, after leaving on a mission, had been looking forward to returning to his home in rural Oregon to court the woman he loved, only to find her affections engaged by another man. Desperate to get away from the heartache, he takes a position in Dalles, Ore., assisting the town’s female physician. Chance brings Meadow and Drew together, though faith and ethics kept them apart through a variety of trials and tribulations. While this is a sweet, gentle story that immerses readers into the lives of people attempting to survive a tumultuous period in history, many questions are left unanswered, and some plot errors (one character dies of smallpox, and later influenza is said to be the cause of death) distract from otherwise lyrical writing. While some sections live up to the story’s exciting setup, others are undeveloped and poorly researched, resulting in a haphazard reading experience. (BookLife)