"Love to Water My Soul" by Jane Kirkpatrick

Love to Water My Soul by Jane Kirkpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane Kirkpatrick wrote "Love to Water My Soul"

It was hard to get into the beginning of this book but well worth it as you leafed through the pages telling the story of a little girl lost from a wagon train. She was found by the Paiute Indians, dirty crying and scared. They took her home with them and let her live there for many years. It was an extremely hard life and a lonely one, she was felt an outcast, she slept with dogs for warmth and they became close friends.
They gave her name of shell flower for indian name and she told them her name was AsIam. She had a vague memory of a father that was military coming home with phrases like "As you were" and she and her siblings would chant to themselves As I Am like a game. She had few memories of her family.
She tried to be obedient to the indian family she now had but still had a little stubborn streak that I think kept her going when times were tough. She tried to climb rough hilly area to be high and see more when she slipped and fell and had much pain from hurting her leg. One of the indians from the tribe found her and helped her back and then she had to live with someone and have help for sometime to get healed. This is when she found a friend that became most dear overtime. Shard his brother "Stink bug" and little sister Wrenn. Shard was the oldest and even as a child she watched his comings and goings and dreamed of being important to him.
Jane put lot of history about the indians and I learned from her research.
Many years later the Indians were hunting antelope and believed that Shell Flower was bad for them and would keep the spirits from helping so she was told to "go far- gather and stay longer each time" when she realized they meant to sacrifice her and burn with wood she was gathering she left the area and walked many days through woods til she was found by some white folks Peter Sherar and his wife , they ran an inn for travlers to have a place to stop - then move on after resting awhile. they named her Alice M and she lived with them for years learning the white ways again and healing inside and out.
It was here that she met an older man who come to care for her and they married, he was a dr of the mind and she learned from him too. Dr Thomas Crickett was a very patient man and they became very close before he died and she was left alone again. An Indian had been brought to his clinic that was very disturbed and Alice M felt she could help the old woman and sat with her many days to bring comfort and hope to open the mind again. The old woman brought comfort as she reminded her of the Indians she had learned to care for while living with them. In trying to find solutions to help this old woman she found that her friend Shard might still be alive and she went back to "The Inn and the Sherar's" to have a respite and look for answers.
This time Shard found her and she was reunited with his mother that had kept her, raising her as a daughter.
I was happy to see the two reunited and now living in a wood home they were happy to see Alice M-Asiam also and they sat and spoke of old times and what happened since she had departed. Many changes and yet they could still care for one another.
I had hoped to see the little girl would find her parents but that was not to be and who knows maybe a future book might continue her story.
If you like to read about history you will enjoy this story, the facts were from a tale from grandmother who told of little girl lost and living with Indians..Thanks Jane for weaving this wonderful story.

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