“Follow The River” By James Alexander Thom -Historical Fiction

Follow the River by James Alexander Thom, is my mom’s favorite. When I was young, I remember finding this book in various places around the house because my mom revisited this story many times.

Something stirred inside me recently and I was reminded of this book, a book I had never read but recognized the cover well. So I bought my own copy and was intrigued immediately by the beautiful and descriptive writing, and the grand adventure that was held within the pages. I was also anxious to discover what had been so special to my mom about this book, and what stood out to her as a woman on her own journey, that kept bringing her back to these particular pages.

This story is a detailed rendition of a real woman, Mary Ingles, and her courageous escape from Indians after being captured in the mid 1700s, and her long and difficult journey home.

This book demonstrates the love and devotion of a passionate wife and mother. One who had to make difficult decisions while life relentlessly dragged her through devastating challenges. Challenges that perhaps should have no doubt killed her in spirit, and eventually in body- but never succeeded. 

When Mary nears the end of her journey she again faces another challenge that has her wondering if yet again, she’s reached the end of her life. In the silence she hears her mother’s voice urging her along…

“But any day th’ good Lord lets’ee open your eyes, that’s a day he’s got somethin’ f’r ye t’ do.”

Mary continued pressing forward repeating this phrase alongside the faint beating of her heart and eventually makes it back to her own civilization and husband, with more surprises to come.

I was inspired by the character’s hope, and her determination to continue forward with every curve of the river that she followed. Hoping that she would eventually reach peace, rest, and comfort that existed alongside those she loved- if she could ever make her way back home again.

One part in particular was very touching. Mary had been traveling through the deserted river banks and mountains for weeks. Starving and freezing she looked up to see, 

“A flash of intense scarlet shot through their vision and stopped on a bush ten feet away: a cardinal. He sat on a swaying twig looking about with abrupt little turns of his crested head, his bead-black eyes almost invisible in the band of black around the base of his beak. Mary was seeing him with an intense clarity of vision brought on by her utter emptiness, a kind of seeing in which he was not just a bright red bird in a wintry landscape of browns and grays and dying greens, but was a flying vehicle designed to carry the vibrancy of its life from place to barren place and thus to keep all places from being without the beauty of life.”

One thought on this… What if this was how we viewed our interactions with others? What if our thinking was focused like the spotting of this cardinal, finding ways to add beauty and relief to others by simply being in their presence- because of our kindness, our shared light, our sympathetic interaction?

Or, rather recognizing and appreciating others who provide this for us as they enter our lives.

A must read for anyone searching for a boost in encouragement and strength to carry on… and for a reminder of the strength found in every woman.