Sara Donati, Fire Along the Sky

Fire Along the Sky

Sara Donati

Bantam, Sep 2004, $27.00

ISBN: 0553801465

In 1812, half-breed widow Hannah returns to the home of her father Nathaniel and step-mother Elizabeth following the deaths of her husband and their child. Nathaniel, Elizabeth, and Hannah's Aunt Many-Doves can see she has lost the spirit to live. Still, Hannah is a gifted healer and she brings hope and health to the needy of Paradise. This provides her with some solace and the beginnings of her own healing from the tragedy that has left her feeling alone, even amongst loved ones.

Although war seems imminent between America and England and making oceanic passages dangerous and difficult, recently widowed Jennet, a distant cousin, arrives from Scotland. The recent deaths of their respective husbands does not provide a link between Hannah and Elizabeth as the latter refuses to discuss her tragedy while the former acknowledges relief following the end of her loveless marriage. Meanwhile Hannah's stepbrother, eighteen-year-old Daniel, joins the American militia, but becomes a prisoner of war. Only Hannah can set him free but she must first liberate herself from her grief.

FIRE ALONG THE SKY is a deep look at the impact that the War of 1812 had on Americans who were somewhat distant from the front, but affected by loved ones joining the fight. The storyline is character driven, especially by the courage of several of the women, but mostly Hannah who serves as the center that keeps the complex tale together. Fans of James Fennimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales will appreciate this powerful Americana novel.

Harriet Klausner