Except for Me and Thee

Eliza Birdwell #2

by Jessamyn West

Vintage movie tie-in paperback

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Historical, Novels, Humor, Americana

Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Mary Jessamyn West was an American Quaker (originally from Indiana) who wrote numerous stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion (1945).

Reviews

[Moonkiszt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing to think about these two, Jesse and Eliza Birdwell, fictional Quakers set in the state of Indiana. I loved them in Friendly Persuasion, and I love them in this book, where some of the same situations are further explored, and ending with the title of the book as a part of their conversation about their life long love and journey together. Very satisfying.

In my quest to find more books, more work by Jessamyn West, and more about her personally - the tidbits that fall out of the internet into my lap were of the usual sort, but then this one:

Her stories, although shaped by her imagination, are loosely based on tales told to her by her mother and grandmother of their life in rural Indiana.[3] The Birdwells of her books The Friendly Persuasion and 'Except for Me and Thee' are based on Joshua and Elizabeth Milhous, the great-grandparents she shares with President Nixon.[8]Wikipedia, 6/9/2020

Jessamyn was 2nd cousin to Richard Nixon through her mother (and his mother), and these characters I love are really based on grandparents. . . so many of my favorite family stories are based on grandparents, too.

This is a 5 star read for me. . .it was quiet, slow (because I read it slowly and in bits), peaceful and triggered plenty of nostalgia and yearning for old authors, my old friends, books I can only get from vintage sellers these days. If that's your leaning, seek it out. You will hear birds as you read, I promise. I always do.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes when I read a book, I like to think about the impressions that it leaves on my soul, the "feel" of the book, more than the actual content. And for me, Jessamyn West's books always have a clear and distinct aura or feeling, leaving you with a lasting heart impression that sticks with you long after you've finished the last page. Authors who have this skill are always awe-inspiring to me.

Except for Me and Thee feels like this to me:

It's late in the afternoon and the sun is slipping. Light comes in at a slant, pouring golden light onto the lower parts of the walls, and the rest of the room is shrouded in gloom. You're sitting in the shadows of this quiet room. You are folded into a quiet, calm aloneness, but in the peace there is a feeling of all being right in the world. As you contemplate the aging, dying golden light, your soul aches. Gold light juxtaposed against the velvet shadow. It is beautiful. You know you can get up and turn the lights on, but it will only shatter the spell. You want just one more moment of this beautiful ache.

Jessamyn West so skillfully captures the aging, dying beauty of this old world, this hope-infused ever-changing world. There is light and there is darkness. The darkness makes the light priceless. Some day the dark will not overtake the light and a beauty will arise that will fill the longing of our hearts, but until then we catch glimpses, we feel pangs, and we watch the light fade every night.

I feel like Jessamyn West could write a review so much better than I. But, at least she inspires me to try.

[Beckbunch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book. The companion to "The Friendly Persuasion", this book chronicles more stories of the Birdwell family, building on the familiarity built in the first book. West writes poetically and she so perfectly nails the intricacies of family relationships. I laughed and cried and was sorry when the book ended.

[Jennifer Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, what joy! I didn't know there was a sequel to The Friendly Persuasion, and then I found this. What a delight. I love these people. So much beauty. *Sigh.*

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not enjoy this one nearly as much as The Friendly Persuasion. This book for me had too much sadness in it and the overall lighthearted approach was missing.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The companion volume to The Friendly Persuasion, I read this from the library and have been trying to buy it ever since to no avail. Like The Friendly Persuasion it is a delight to read about this Quaker preacher and her family.Jessamyn West has a beautiful style of writing and characters to care about.
January 1st 2013 - Treating myself by re-reading this after buying a second hand copy recently. Years since I first read it from the library and have been looking to buy it ever since.
Loved this just as much second time round. The characters are so well developed. There is joy, sorrow, humour and hard work in the Birdwell family not to mention faith lived out in practical ways, even if it is costly. Set around the time of the civil war there is amore than a little to do with racial tensions and the treatment of negroes.
This is a book for reading and re-reading. I kept reading snippets of it out to my husband. A book that gives joy and makes you think.Recommended and a great start to the year of reading.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speaks to me on a deep level. Both this book and The Friendly Persuasion, also by Jessamyn West, feel so true and real to me. I love books that let you know how the characters feel and think. I love these characters and I identify with them completely. There is no sweeping conflict, action, and resolution here; there is just the day to day sweetness of living here on earth. Warning to my young friends--these books are about people who have lived awhile. You may have to wait until you're "old enough" to enjoy them as thoroughly as I do. BTW, there are too few books about people who are not young and beautiful.

[Pam J · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A nice, quiet little book. I liked it more than I expected to... the author does a great job at setting the scene and the era, and I enjoy reading about Civil War times and some of the moral dilemmas people faced. The characters were memorable and real, there was a subtle humor in a lot of the writing. However, there were plot lines I enjoyed - and it seemed like they were going somewhere - but then a new chapter would start and we'd never hear of them again. Apparently there's another book written about these same characters, and I think I probably will try to track it down. I liked the book enough that I'm curious to know more about what else happens to these people.

[Kathy Halsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at an amazing used book store in Alberton, Montana. It is an amazing store! When I saw the book,as a companion to Friendly Persuasion,I had to get it. I saw the Friendly Persuasion movie as a child and it was the first timed I had heard of the Quakers. There isn't much suspense in the book,rather nice peop;le to spend some time with. Now I am looking for Friendly Persuasion:)

[Marianne Bodine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. I read it partly because my ancestors were Quakers, partly because I loved the movie that was made based on the book (Friendly Persuasion with Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire...great movie, too!). The book was very evocative of the era (Civil War) and filled with gentle humor and sadness. I'm planning on reading Jessamyn West's follow up book, The Friendly Persuasion, next, which continues the Birdwell family's story.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mild read with solid characters and humor. Moral people facing difficult decisions. The good people aren't nearly as boring as Disney tends to depict them ( compare the dialog of Ursula the octopus witch with the Prince, whose name I can't even remember). Good people must be creative, seek inspiration, and stand their ground courageously.
Decent book, but personally not interested in the trilogy.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Except for Me and Thee is a continuation of short stories about the fictional Quaker Birdwell family. The book follows them as they move westward to the wilderness of Indiana and the stories revolve around the family and their experiences as their children grow up.

My father-in-law lent me this book the other day, along with the Friendly Persuasion. Although not particularly religious, my father-in-law seems to have interest in reading about religion and, I think, likes to recommend those types of books to me because of my seminary background. I discovered (thanks to checking Goodreads after the first chapter seemed familiar) that I had already read the Friendly Persuasion, so I continued on with this book. In general, I liked the book. A little bit slow, but it was interesting to read about life on the frontier, and also interesting to consider the major differences between how religious groups dressed, interacted, etc. Sometimes I felt that West was not terribly clear in her writing, especially when it came to dialogue between several characters at one time.

My favorite part of the book was the very long chapter called Neighbors. This chapter was set in the years before the Civil War and dealt with the interesting question of helping slaves riding on the Underground Railroad. Their being Quakers, of course, means that they were advocates of non-violence and equality. However although Eliza (the wife who is a Quaker minister) felt for the plight of the slaves vying for their freedom, also felt that since it was illegal at the time to get involved in freeing slaves that it was wrong to help them because it would be wrong to disobey the law. Jess, her husband, makes up his mind that it is his duty to become involved and help the slaves get toward their freedom. The whole chapter sets this conflict up and, because of events going awry, the slaves end up staying at the Birdwell house and, through the course of the chapter, Eliza slowly comes to change her stance on disobeying laws in order to support a greater good.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is self-described as "A Companion to The Friendly Persuasion." It is neither a sequel nor a prequel - it mostly overlaps with the time frame of Friendly Persuasion, and deals with the same Birdwell family.

Most of the stories are about 20 pages long, and are lovely insights into the family relationships. The longest one, though, is about 90 pages long, called "Neighbors." It deals with the Fugitive Slave Act, and the conflict between the principle of obedience to law and the importance of helping the sick and hungry, especially those who were subject to abuse. It was extremely affecting.

I found this at the library and decided to give it a try. I was nervous, because I had not much cared for Cress Delahanty. As you can see by the 5 star rating, my nervousness was unwarranted.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Except for Me and Thee is the story of Jess and Eliza Birdwell, a young Quaker couple, who move to southern Indiana to create their own homestead. This book tells their story from their courtship until their mature years. It deals with their sorrow in the loss of their oldest daughter at a young age from scarlet fever, their divided positions on the federal law to return slaves to their owners and the act of saving someone abused, the issues of children growing up, and the challenges of a loving relationship.

I enjoyed this book even though the story was not a compelling one. It was nicely told and the characters were fully developed and felt real.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to have more continuity than The Friendly Persuasion, but it is just as touching. It kind of found its way into my heart since I was raised on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, and the history of the Underground Railroad was a fascination for me while it is portrayed in this southern Indiana setting. The chapters are anecdotes, but one can follow the progression of time and contrast it with some stories from The Friendly Persuasion. The sensitive topics of racial prejudice, compassion for someone different than oneself, and children born out of wedlock (mentioned briefly)are touched upon with love and understandingd as is everything else, while the author creates a setting filled with such charm.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read. i couldn't put this book down. i remember one spring afternoon lying on the couch nearly the whole day long while my children were in school. i sobbed my eyes out in some spots and felt joy and hope at other points. when i was crying, i remember i had to lay the book down on my tummy for at least 10 minutes. i felt as if i, myself had just suffered the loss the character had. i want to read it again. that was in the mid to late seventies. sigh...i still feel as if i were there.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn't guess that I enjoyed it as much as "The Friendly Persuasion" since it took me 8 months to finish. To say I'm behind on my reading is an understatement. I am completely enamoured with Southern Indiana, especially since I moved there a year ago. My quest is to find a spot that is reminescent of the home in this book. There is something to be said about the simple life and the Quaker attitude towards it.

[Heather Cawte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to the Friendly Persuasion. We're back in nineteenth century rural America with the same Quaker family, but these stories provide more of the family history - how the parents met, and so on. As beautifully-written as every West book.

[Barbara Osterwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the Little House books, there is a bit of looking-at-the-past-through-rose-colored glasses going on here, but it's not meant to be anything more than what it is, a gentle reflection on a happy marriage. I loved it back when my grandma gave me the book forty years ago, and I still enjoy it today.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is all that the first book (Friendly Persuasion) is and more; from a different slat and in greater depth. Except for Me and Thee shows the bravery and dilemma of a Quaker in the face of war, to live out their faith, even when division and differences of opinion come close to home. Lovely and warm book. Good read.

[Virginia Markhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a comfortable book to read. Told the story of a man and woman, their children and home. It was just very comfortable. I liked the time period. Civil war days, and how it affected the family. The wife in the story is a Quaker preacher, the husband is a Quaker also, raised their kids in the religion. Nice read.

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for Me and Thee by Jessamyn West is a light novel based in the US during the Civil War. Quaker values, changing times and political upheavals centre around the relationship of one Quaker couple and their life together. This book was a loaner from my mother, given to me while I was in hospital as she thought it would be calming and indeed it was. A good read.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my exercise bike book, but it wasn't the wisest choice -- tears and exercise are a weird combination. I loved the book and want to read other books by Jessamyn West, especially Friendly Persuasion.

[Stefanie]

Story about Quakers pioneering West before the Civil War. Slow beginning, by the middle the story actually gets some interesting plot lines going on. I enjoyed it, but I can't recommend it for most people.

[Bruth George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming book about a Quaker couple in the mid to late 1800s. The best parts are the conversations, both real and in their heads only, between the couple as they handle the conflicts in their lives.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago I loved this author's "Friendly Persuasion," and borrowed my sister's copy of the book so often that she finally gave it to me.
I don't like this grimmer sequel nearly as much, but that did not keep me from reading it a second time.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a continuation of the story of the Quaker family introduced in "The Friendly Persuasion". It picks up where the first book ended up. this was every bit as good as the first.

[Ricky Badon]

great book! i had read it about 40 years ago. also i loved the movie "fRIENDLY pERSUASION"!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cassettes.

[Beth Yeary]

I read this book in high school, but didn't remember all that much about it. Just that I enjoyed the book. Thanks to the library sale, I got to enjoy it again. Each chapter is a stand along story.