I had mixed feelings about this book. It was well written and interesting, as are all of Jane Kirkpatrick's books. I just had a hard time connecting with Abigail/Jenny. I am very thankful there were women like her who championed for the right for women to vote and to be equal in the law. I did feel sad that her crusade cost so much for her family. I worried through the book that no matter how understanding and supportive her husband Ben was that there might come a time when he'd had enough of all her absences. Though she loved her husband and six children, they often seemed to be neglected in favor of her activism. I think it's important to read books like this to remind us that the rights we sometimes take for granted were not easily won. I highly recommend Something Worth Doing.

I wish I could remember the very first time I opened one of Jane's books. I think it may have been in the 1990's. I have read almost all of her books, and will get to read the ones I haven't yet very soon.

She was kind enough to ask her publisher to send me a copy of this newest work, and I am so very grateful. The story of Abigail Scott Duniway is absolutely riveting, and the story of her lifelong effort to bring the vote to women in her state of Oregon was so touching. I think every woman and teenager should read this book at some point in their lives.

Just as interesting as her engaging characters and mastery of story is the Author Note and Acknowledgement section in the back of her books, and I was looking forward the whole time I was reading the story to check out all that Jane had done to research this incredible woman. For me, Jane's efforts to do the work to tell the story are the gold standard by which I look at other authors. I know she inspires and encourages many other writers.

I know I should speak of some of the particulars of this story, and as with all of Jane's books it's hard to pull out one or two things to highlight. I appreciated the story of Abigail's and Ben's relationship as I think it accurately portrays a good team, where one person's strength can complement the other's weaker parts. Also I liked the things Jane brought out about Abigail's birth family and her relationship with her brother and sisters and made Abigail who she was in a lot of ways. I love that some of her family was with her for her life's work, even if they didn't quite appreciate all of Abigail's quirks. Isn't that what family is for?

This is way too long for a review, but this is Jane!!! and she deserves all the praise for her talent and vision in presenting realistic pictures of important people we should know.

Book Review--"Something Worth Doing" by Jane Kirkpatrick

A Novel of An Early Suffragist

Jane Kirkpatrick did an excellent job writing this book about Abigail Scott Duniway. It is filled with facts yet is written more like the telling of a story instead of a documentary.

She leads the reader through the life of Abigail from the time she is a child up until 1912 which was three years before Abigail's death. Abigail did live to cast her vote in Oregon's 1914 election, which was the first year women were allowed to vote in Oregon. Abigail did not live to see the 19th Amendment to the Constitution passed in 1919 though as she passed away in 1915.

Abigail was a women to be admired for her tenacity and hard work. Though her life was full of tragedies and hardships she never gave up on her dreams and always found a way to keep moving forward.

She accomplished so much good in her 81 years of life.

We women of today can thank Abigail Scott Duniway and many other early women who worked and fought so hard to win us the right to vote, and we women of today would all do well to read this book of Abigail's life to see all she and the others in the Suffragist Movement went through to give us in the USA the freedoms we have today.

This book was also even more interesting to me as I live in Oregon, a mere 5.5 miles from Lafayette, Oregon where Abigail lived for many years and taught school. Currently the town has recently built a memorial park dedicated to her and of course, she is remembered and memorialized in Portland and Oregon City as well, so this book just brought history close to home for me.

I recommend all women to read this book. It is entertaining as well as educational.

I was given a copy of this book free by Revell Books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.

Something Worth Doing is a riveting account of one woman's lifetime struggle to improve the rights of women, especially those in the western United States. Any woman, whether married or not, a mother or not, or working out of the home or not can relate to this story. A woman's work is never done, and I'm thankful for women like Abigail Scott Duniway who chose to dedicate so much of their life to a greater cause.

This story, while based on a historical figure and true events, is fiction, but it reads more like a biography and less like a typical novel, which I loved. I sped through chapter after chapter, enthralled by the ordinary and extraordinary parts of Abigail's life. It captured the struggle, the frustration, and the beauty of a woman's world in the 1800s, particularly in the West.

The work and expectations of women in Abigail's time were outrageous, and yet they persevered, like women often do. And while so many rights have been added to women since Abigail's fight for the vote, the expectations still placed on women to be the perfect mother, the successful boss lady, and still maintain a tidy home continue to be overwhelming. Any woman can see herself in this story. I know I did. When Abigail doubted her desire to keep fighting for suffrage at the expense of time with her family, I saw the modern stresses of women, trying to attain dreams while still balancing the care of their family and home.

So, while this book is historical, it is still so relevant in the insight it provides on one progressive woman's impact on history and our lives today.

Any woman who enjoys historical fiction will like this book. I know I spoke of this story and Abigail to all who would listen!

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions are my own.

"To move forward, she'd have to believe that something was worth doing no matter how it turned out."

Compelling and thought-provoking, Jane Kirkpatrick's "Something Worth Doing" presents a fictional but reality-based depiction of suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway. In all honesty, this is the first that I recall ever hearing about her, despite her decades of work toward women's enfranchisement. Kirkpatrick mentions in her author notes that she chose to focus more on Abigail's personal life, and this is what gives the book its distinctive tone, in my opinion. It actually took me much longer than usual to read, and I think that the complexities of Abigail's character and the extraordinary details of her life's journey are the reason. Even though she is clearly modeled after a famous historical figure, I have to credit Kirkpatrick with truly tapping into Abigail's personality and lifting her from the pages of history--faults, assets, and all.

In a larger context, "Something Worth Doing" applies to struggles beyond that of women's suffrage and women's rights. Whereas most historical fiction includes a happily-ever-after preceded by a standard plot structure, this one diverges. The solemn tone throughout reflects the hardships of life, and particularly women's lives, in the nineteenth-century, highlighting their inability to own property, influence laws through voting, and have careers outside the home and their subsequent status as dependent on the men in their lives. Many of the controversies in the novel remain prevalent today in some form, emphasizing how progressive Abigail and her compatriots really were. In my opinion, part of the reason that she was able to retain her reputation in the midst of her outspoken platform was in her approach: "My way is a 'still hunt.' Quiet coercion of men in power and men in general to be less frightened by women." I was intrigued by her speculation about how equality between men and women would have been the result had Columbus landed on the West Coast, rather than the East, and her persistence through so many setbacks and even outright failures is quite remarkable.

Abigail's story as told by Kirkpatrick invites reflection and contemplation, aided by engaging chapter titles and a set of discussion questions at the end of the book. While I admire Abigail's tenacity and dedication to the cause, I also feel a great deal of sadness for her because she sacrificed tenderness and stronger relationships with her family on behalf of her suffrage work, a forfeit that she did choose willingly. She acknowledges as much by noting that "The married women and mothers working in the cause bore an extra burden to make sure their own daughters weren't set aside for the larger effort. Advocacy had its price, even with occasional privileges." Such is the case with any passion or cause that we take up today as much as it was a century ago, and thus this story resonates so profoundly. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed Ben's supportive presence so much, reminding us all that "Things didn't always turn out well, as Ben proposed, but some things were worth doing, regardless."

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.