2023 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Historical and Fiction: Multicultural
2023 IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist in Historical Fiction
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Multicultural Fiction
“An engaging tale that powerfully evokes a time and place in American history.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Storyteller Linda Ulleseit shares a fabulous account of frontier women—white, Native, and Black—in a variety of social statuses, tenderly conveyed. Taken from actual histories, each woman seeks independence and thinks she is willing to endure the consequences. Linda brings to life the p rairies of Michigan Territory and the emotional demands on lives changing day by day. I read well into the night and didn’t want to let these women go! Neither will readers everywhere.”
—Jane Kirkpatrick, New York Times best-selling author of The Healing of Natalie Curtis
“Ulleseit's powerful storytelling enlightens readers to the compelling women who have been missing from our history books for far too long. A captivating and worthwhile read for all fans of historical fiction.”
—Samantha Specks, author of Dovetails in Tall Grass
“The powerful stories of three women intertwined by their courage and by the mother of rivers, the Mississippi, are artfully and fearlessly told by award winning author, Linda Ulleseit.”
—K.D. Allbaugh, author of Face Down in Rising Sun
“Linda Ulleseit describes the three women’s plights in vivid historical detail as they navigate the wild frontier and decide how to pursue their dreams. A moving story that captures uniquely different lives and cultures that ultimately unite in hope and redemption. Highly recommended!”
—Jill Caugherty, author of Isle of Castaways and Waltz In Swing Time
“In this richly layered story, three women: a white settler, an enslaved person, and a Dakota, seek their own desire for the freedom to be who they want to be. The River Remembers is a refreshing look at pre-Civil War America with well-known historical figures weaving in and out.”
—J.L Oakley, award-winning author of The Jøssing Affair and The Quisling Factor
“Linda Ulleseit brings together her triple-stranded narrative incredibly well to create a novel about the American frontier that is unlike anything I have encountered.”
—Reader’s Favorite 5 STARS
“Linda Ulleseit creates a powerhouse of a story that utilizes these contrasts in women’s lives to build a tale of interlinked destinies and strengths that profiles the real-world unique confluence of cultures at Fort Snelling in the 1830s. The River Remembers is a powerful work of women’s literature that ideally should be included in book club discussion groups, women’s history holdings, and libraries interested in fiction. It brings the past’s underlying motivations and realities to vivid life.”
—D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“An unforgettable story of the resilience, determination, and friendship of women on the frontier, beautiful writing, and historically accurate details earn The River Remembers a five out of five rating. The author has done a fantastic job telling this story and readers will find themselves immersed in the story from page one.”
—Historical Fiction Company
Past Praise for the Author
For The Aloha Spirit
2020 Grand Prize winner for CIBA Goethe award
2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards): Bronze Winner
in West-Pacific - Best Regional Fiction
Included in Parade's list of "Poolside Reads You'll Want to Pick Up Before the End of Summer!”
“The poignant and atmospheric tale captures the pre–World War II diversity of Hawaiian culture, a melting pot of religions and ethos... Evocative and engaging, with a protagonist determined to keep the aloha spirit in her heart.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Ulleseit writes with a strong grasp of local color to send the Hawaiian spirit flowing through your veins . . . an exceptional story of a woman whose unwavering spirit has been tested at a very young age and continues throughout her years.”
—Readers Favorite, FIVE STARS
“Linda Ulleseit has written a heroic tale of family, friendship, loss, and redemption. With undeniable beauty, she captures the courage of a young woman and community stunned by unforgettable tragedy. She writes with humility, grace, and a quiet brilliance as she portrays young Dolores’s search for family and the generous, hardworking heart at the center of The Aloha Spirit.”
—Milana Marsenich, author of Copper Sky and The Swan Keeper
“The Aloha Spirit is heartbreaking and hopeful, with a story as rugged and beautiful as the landscape. Linda Ulleseit has written a wonderfully immersive story, with prose so vivid I could practically feel the ocean breezes on every page.”
—Martha Conway, author of The Underground River
“Aloha means many things, not the least of which is love, but at seven years old, Dolores, given away by her father to an Hawaiian family, felt abandoned. Linda Ulleseit has written poignantly of aloha and the importance of the extended family.”
—Cecilia Johansen, author of The Canoe-Maker’s Son and founding member of the Hawaii Writers Guild
“Linda Ulleseit takes you on the journey of Dolores’ life, from the sun-soaked Hawaiian Islands where she experiences hardship, loss, love—and learns the true meaning of family; to California where she starts a new life, only to find that her troubles have followed her. Through her perseverance, a strong connection to family, and her undying faith in God and Aloha, Dolores finally finds peace and happiness—and the true love of her heart.”
—Kari Bovee, author of The Annie Oakley Mystery Series and The Grace Michelle Mystery Series
2022-10-24
A historical novel tells the stories of three young women in Michigan Territory with different challenges and goals.
Samantha Lockwood escapes her domineering family in the East, determined to make her own decisions about marriage. “A really good wife is almost always unhappy,” says her mother, in a peculiar attempt to buck her up. Samantha’s older brother runs a store and post office in Prairie du Chien. Day Sets, a Dakota woman with a White husband, wants a better life for her tribe and especially for her daughter, Mary. And Harriet Robinson, a Black enslaved person, wants her freedom. This is the 1830s in the upper Midwest along the Mississippi in what will become Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Native Americans are getting short shrift even as some try desperately to accommodate White men and even assimilate. Some of those White men are simply hateful and grasping (and their wives are no better). Others mean well but are inept or powerless. And although Harriet is living in a free territory, she is still an enslaved person. For just a little while, she feels as if she is free, but it will take years and lawsuits for that to happen, even after she marries Dred Scott (yes, that Dred Scott). Headstrong Samantha marries the feckless Alex Miree but eventually finds true love. Much of this story comes from Ulleseit’s own family history. Though there have been some liberties taken, the engrossing novel is largely true to that history and gets a lot of credit for being faithful to the time and place. What is immediately striking is the number of historical personages (Zachary Taylor, Jefferson Davis, artist George Catlin, Dred Scott) who make appearances. But the author assures readers that they all, in fact, visited that locale in that decade. All three women are strong and sympathetic characters, and Ulleseit provides copious and helpful backmatter. And running through the vivid story are reveries that reflect the timelessness that the title suggests.
An engaging tale that powerfully evokes a time and place in American history.
