I recently came across Never Let Go by Pamela Nowak, a powerful historical novel that brings to life the harrowing stories of five women who survived the Lake Shetek Massacre. On August 20, 1862, settlers at Lake Shetek were attacked by Sisseton warriors during the outbreak of the U.S.–Dakota War. In the chaos, many hid in a nearby slough; fifteen settlers were killed, three women and eight children were taken captive, and twenty-one managed to escape to safety.

Drawing on extensive research—evident in her detailed list of sources—Nowak imagines the experiences of Laura Duley, Lavina Eastlick, Almena Hurd, Christina Koch, and Julia Wright, tracing their journeys from hopeful frontier beginnings to the terror of survival and the fierce, unyielding drive to protect their children.

I haven’t yet had the chance to read the novel, but I’m eager to delve into this compelling story. By sharing it here, I hope you’ll join me in discovering and honoring the resilience of these remarkable women.

About the novel

Sacrificing dreams and risking family, five women follow their husbands to an isolated Minnesota settlement. Struggling to survive, they develop resilience but none are prepared for the challenges they face when starving bands of Santee Sioux (Dakota) take up arms against the whites during the 1862 Dakota Conflict.

Laura Duley left Indiana as a newlywed. Promised a perfect life, she endured years on the hostile frontier and the loss of family only to be taken captive by the Dakota. Independent and protective, Lavina Eastlick was shot, beaten, and left for dead after witnessing the death of several of her children. In the hope that two still survived, she stumbled miles to reach safety. Christina Koch was a headstrong German immigrant determined to make a new life in America. Challenging her captors at every turn, she finally escaped to safety. Almena Hurd, unwavering in her commitment to family, was already dealing with a missing husband when she was sent alone onto the prairie with two small children. She survived by carrying one, then returning for the other, a quarter mile at a time. Julia Wright, the honest, practical wife of an unscrupulous trader, used her language skills and understanding of the Dakota to help the captives during their ordeal, becoming so valuable that her captor refused to release her to her rescuers, the Yankton Sioux Fool Soldier Band.

Their braided stories reveal a common will that allowed them to hold on no matter what and to never let go.

Praise for Never Let Go

“With great empathy and vivid storytelling, Nowak delivers readers into the heart of the frontier and the Dakota uprising of 1862. A tale of bravery, sacrifice, and determination, NEVER LET GO is rich with historical detail and a cast of unforgettable women who refused to accept their fate. A winner!”
—Heather Webb, USA Today Bestselling Author

“Never Let Go” is a rich, detailed 453 pages, the kind of novel you become lost in. About half the book details the women’s backgrounds; their childhoods, marriages, how they got to Lake Shetek, and their relationships with their husbands. So by the time the Indians attack, we know these women intimately and ache for their physical and mental suffering.

Nowak is equally respectful to the Indian’s frustrations. A character points out that it was not in the Dakota culture to kill and take captives. It was so alien they weren’t even sure what to do with the women. But treaties were broken and they were starving. Some of the Lake Shetek women were treated well in the camps, others suffered brutality. It was a group of young Indian men, known as the Fool Soldiers because they disagreed with the War Council, who guided some of the captives to safety.

The author includes helpful maps tracing the captives’ journey to release and charts showing the families at Lake Shetek and the relationships between the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota bands of Southwestern Minnesota in 1862.

Don’t miss this involving book, which also comes with a discussion guide.

—Twin Cities Pioneer Press, September 12, 2020 (Mary Ann Grossman)

From the Author

This is a story that is incredibly close to my heart. I grew up just a few miles from Lake Shetek and learned about the events there while still a child. I tried to write this story as a teenager (but, of course, knew nothing about fiction craft). It was the topic of research papers in high school and college and it remained with me for decades. When I knew it was time, I returned to Minnesota to again walk in the footsteps of these women, visit their cabin sites, and start deeper threads of research into  what made each of them strong enough to survive their ordeals. The story grew beyond simply the events of 1862 because the roots of these women’s strength lay in the lives they lived. 

As a historian as well as a novelist, I took great pains to remain true to the historical record wherever possible. However, my purpose was to make the stories of Laura, Lavina, Christina, Almena, and Julia come alive rather than to offer a scholarly reporting of events. While I was able to locate clues to  their major live events, I could only surmise their personalities, their family interactions, their dreams and motivations, conversations, or what they thought and did in their daily lives. I have not changed any of the facts I was able to uncover. However, to create my story, I filled in the gaps and developed the women as characters, from my  imagination, around  factual  events. This  is a novel, not a history, but I hope it is one that does justice to the history.