One Glorious Ambition by Jane Kirkpatrick

Title: One Glorious Ambition

Author: Jane Kirkpatrick

Genre: Biography

ISBN: 9781400074310

Type: Trade Paperback

Synopsis: One dedicated woman...giving voice to the suffering of many

Born to an unavailable mother and an abusive father, Dorothea Dix longs simply to protect and care for her younger brothers, Charles and Joseph. But at just fourteen, she is separated from them and sent to live with relatives to be raised properly. Lonely and uncertain, Dorothea discovers that she does not possess the ability to accept the social expectations imposed on her gender and she desires to accomplish something more than finding a suitable mate. 

Yearning to fulfill her God-given purpose, Dorothea finds she has a gift for teaching and writing. Her pupils become a kind of family, hearts to nurture, but long bouts of illness end her teaching and Dorothea is adrift again. It’s an unexpected visit to a prison housing the mentally ill that ignites an unending fire in Dorothea’s heart—and sets her on a journey that will take her across the nation, into the halls of the Capitol, befriending presidents and lawmakers, always fighting to relieve the suffering of what Scripture deems, the least of these. 

In bringing nineteenth-century, historical reformer Dorothea Dix to life, author Jane Kirkpatrick combines historical accuracy with the gripping narrative of a woman who recognized suffering when others turned away, and the call she heeded to change the world

My Review: Dorothea's life started out kind of rough with a mom who was not there an a father who was abusive. All she wanted was to take care of her brothers but instead she got sent away to live with relatives who would raise her properly. Dorothea found she did not care about courting and such but she wanted to be a teacher but yet again life throws her a curve when she becomes ill and has to quit teaching. Now after a visit to a prison that houses mentally ill people Dorothea decides it is her goal in life to make things better for them. We now begin to follow her life long journey on this quest to make things right for those less fortunate. As with other books I have read by Jane I was drawn in from page one. I had not heard about Dorothea before seeing this book. I read what this book was about and had to have it. Jane does an excellent job in making you feel for the people she writes about and you fall in love with them from the get go. I love anything to do with this time period in history so it made me like it that much better and I flew through the book. This book is so well written that you do not even realize you are reading a biography instead of a historical fiction book. I found myself wanting to go back in time and help Dorothea and just give her a big hug.I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.. A big 5 stars on this one.  

Jane Kirkpatrick is a best-selling, award-winning author whose previous historical novels include All Together in One Place and Christy Award finalist A Tendering in the Storm. An international keynote speaker, she has earned regional and national recognition for her stories based on the lives of actual people, including the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Hall of Fame. Jane is a Wisconsin native who since 1974 has lived in Eastern Oregon, where she and her husband, Jerry, ranch 160 rugged acres. To visit her website click here