Description
In the early 1900s, traveling from Rhode Island to New Hampshire really was a road trip, especially if one was a seventy-seven-year-old woman. While it may not entirely compare with journeying across the country in a covered wagon (and based on her memories was not the most exciting part of her life), Katharine Prescott Wormeley’s trip was nevertheless an important part of her life. As she died shortly afterward, one might consider it the culmination of her life.
It does not read like a swan song, however. Gail Ward Olmstead has created a tender, meditative novel which reads like a combination of a novel and a cozy memoir. Katharine is a warm, friendly voice, with enough gumption to make her story compelling. The book focuses more on the people Katharine meets rather than the states she journeys through. Those wanting to avoid a travelogue will enjoy the personality of her friends and the history she has lived through; others may be disappointed to not see more of the actual road trip.
While at times I found the book dull, on the whole, I enjoyed it. I would especially recommend it to older women, especially those also looking back on their lives.
