Safe Haven

by Jean Holbrook Mathews

With her family left destitute by her father’s recent death, Susanna Thayer believes her only hope is to marry life-long friend Jonathan Burnley. But Jonathan heeds the counsel of his father, an unscrupulous lawyer, to marry a cousin of greater wealth and position, and Susanna is forced to endure grueling labor in a cotton mill far from her remaining family. When she and her best friend, Jane, become involved with the Mormon Church and are thus dismissed from employment, they use their meager savings for travel to New York, where they join a company of Saints bound for California. Yet Susanna’s efforts to build a new life are marked by continued misfortune — and continued encounters with Jonathan. Now a wealthy widower, Jonathan offers Susanna safe haven for the future, but can she forgive him for abandoning her in the past?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Lds Fiction, Lds, Fiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sit here in my warm home, surrounded by my many electronic devices, convenient foods and abundant blessings I am always humbled by stories like this....

How blessed we are by the hardships of our ancestors!

Susanna feels that life is well planned for her and that her future is a bright one.

Then things start to fall apart and she is asked to step out into an unknown future.

Time and time again her path is shown a different direction...but she "takes life by the horns" and tries to make the best of each situation.

Each time she feels that she has found her "safe haven" the Lord closes that door and opens a new one which she must learn to trust.

Filled with raw emotions, pains, trials, friendship and love Susanna is guided to a better place...one filled with the gospel.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, especially if you like a lot of historical LDS facts concerning textile mills, the early days of the Church in New England, going to CA by ship, etc.

[Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Church History has always been a fascinating subject for me. I love reading novels about how the pioneers of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made their various journeys and treks across the United States to the Salt Lake valley in Utah. This story takes two young women from Boston around Cape Horn on a sailing ship to California to follow their new religion. I learned a lot about the travels and sacrifices that people who chose that path suffered and yet remained strong in their faith. This author let us really know about the details of the lives of people who lived in the 1840's and 50's, and how they felt about their religion. There was plenty of Church History facts woven into the experiences of Susannah Thayer and Ruth O'Neil. It was a good story to listen to on audio CD. I would listen to Jean Holbrook Mathews' novels again, although one thing about her writing I would "improve;" at times there were almost too many details for my liking. It seemed to slow the story down a bit, and yet those details at times enriched my understanding.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a good story, it just moved too slow for my attention span! I found myself skimming because I have read so many similar stories, just to find a part that was a "new" read! After reading 4 or 5 books about the saints that traveled by boat in the last year, there was little "new" material for me. For someone less well read in the genre it would be a more enjoyable story.

[Katherine Yost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safe Haven is about a girl named Susanna Thayer who's father recently passed away. A young man named Jonathan Burnley wants to marry Susanna, but Susanna feels that she needs to think about it. After a short while of thinking about it, Susanna tells Jonathan that she is ready to marry him, only to find that Jonathan chose to marry his cousin of greater wealth and position. Susanna goes to work at a cotton mill to help support her family. She starts to attend the Mormon church services and gets baptized with her best friend Jane. Once word gets to the mill that they are involved with the Mormon church, they are dismissed from work. They use their meager savings to buy a passage on the boat to Zion, The Brooklyn. She travels with Sam Brannan and hundreds of other Saints to reach California, if they ever get there.
There are many different types of figurative language in this book. "A glimmer of her old courage returned." That is a hyperbole when you can't really measure a glimmer of courage, it just means that she felt some courage return. "The driven snow and chilling wind that lifted her cloak and sniffed at her ankles" is imagery. She was describing what it was like to walk down that snowy street on that cold winter day. A simile in this book is, "Her lips were as straight and narrow as the selvage of one of the gray cotton fabrics produced by the Merrimack mill in Lowel." She is comparing the maids lips to the selvage at the cotton mill she worked at for so long.
I LOVED this book, like a LOT. It touched my heart what she had to go through to reach her safe haven. I loved how she had only been a member for a short time and then went on the Brooklyn to go to Zion. I love how the characters come to life when I read. It is so easy to get lost in this enchanting story. One thing that kind of bugged me was in the middle, it wasn't really going anywhere for a few chapters. I absolutely LOVED this book and if any of you are looking for a good book to read, DEFINITELY read this one.

[Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I listened to this story on our way to Portland to my cousin JoAnn's funeral. It was very interesting and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out. I thought at first that Jonathan was going to be a bad character but he was just sordidly influenced by his greedy father. It turned out he was sorry for not marrying Susanna Thayer. Susanna despite undergoing so many sad things continues to remain choice and loving. I really felt bad when her Mormon Battalion beau was killed by Indians.
This story was well written and kept my interest. It was nice my wife and I could share it together.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book 2.5 stars. I liked some of the characters and there were some cute and good parts. I felt like Susanna's conversion to the Mormon faith was pretty glossed over. It felt like we never knew what sustained her amidst all her hardships. It just felt like this book was one hardship after another and the ending was too brief and sudden. It wasn't really an awful book but I wasn't a huge fan either. I just feel kind of sad even though the ending was meant to be a happy one. All in all it was an ok book.

[Pattisue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping the faith when all seems lost and hopeless is one of life’s greatest challenges. Susanna struggles to believe after each loss and heartbreak. But somewhere the sun is always shining and hope exists through every storm. Love and restoration await Susanna at the end of her long journey to the Salt Lake Valley.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never heard of the saints who traveled from Boston to San Francisco on a ship. It was an interesting read, but seemed to meander. I wish the back copy didn't say so much about it because the whole time I knew how the story was going to end.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susanna Thayer is one of the early saints who will finally settle in Salt Lake City. Before that happens, she will experience hardships that I can hardly imagine. I really like what her mother told her--"Take life by the horns."

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The historical part was interesting. This would have better as a non-fiction. The characters were often cheesy. The main character was the hero of every problem. The conflicts resolved too easily and without story line. I was curious enough to finish but it was also disappointing.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written very differently from most novels I've read. It felt a little bit like a history. Or even a documentary. I think the author tried to cover too much in one book.

[Sadie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting for the history, but not the story line.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some interesting things about early Church history and the Saints who went with Sam Brannon to settle California

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, historical romance with a happy ending after many downward slopes.
Susanna Thayer's future looked bright. She had a loving family, a friend and confidant that would also be her future husband. Then her father died, causing her financial status to change. Her mother and herself took in work where they could, but after much thought the solution became to accept Jonathan's offer of marriage and forgo the mourning period to secure the family. When her letter wasn't returned with an immediate response, Susanna became worried that Jonathan's feeling had changed since his leaving for law school. Her worries were not unfounded. His responding letter told her he was engaged to his cousin. Susanna was devastated. Her childhood friend who she loved was not only breaking her heart, but forcing her to find work in a mill to provide for her mother and brother. She left home and traveled to an unknown place. On the way she met Jane, an orphan who also needed the work the mills provided to support herself. They became fast friends as susanna helped to encourage Jane in their outlook on taking life by the horns as her mother taught her.
They worked at the mill under dire circumstances, found the gospel, were baptized, and then let go from work because of it. They traveled to New york in hopes of getting passage to California by boat to meet up with the saints. She reunited with her aunt who tried to give her an inheritance, but died before the new will was official. This reunited her with Jonathan, who was a married man and soon to be a father. He told her he still loved her and always would. She still hurt from his rejection of her letter and left for CA not knowing then that he had given Jane money to help with their passage.
The journey was long and with much hardship. They landed in CA and found themselves needing work again. They learned to make and sell tortillas, cut hair and then run a hotel. They met some of the mormon battalion. Susanna befriended,Henderson Cox (sonny). They became closer as Sonny came to visit her even after moving farther away to find work. He asked her to come with him to Utah and she agreed to marry him when they arrived. He decided to go ahead and scout out the trail and was killed by indians. Susanna again wondered what the Lord had in store for her to keep taking away the people she loved and Jane had stayed back in CA with her husband. She struggles with her faith, but hears her father telling her that their is always trials of faith in hardship. She grabs life by the hand again and makes it to utah and stays with Sonny's uncle's family. She wants to be independent, but struggles with how to do it. She isolates herself in their home until one visit to town meets her face to face with Jonathan once again. She runs. Her aunt finds out what jonathan wanted to tell her and creates the opportunity for him to do so. After hearing that Jonathan was forced into marriage to his cousin, her death and the death of their child, his father disowning him, his departure and meeting of the missionaries, baptism, and travel to utah to wait for her. Some of her barriers around her heart crumble and she is open to trusting him again. After time they are married. He also keeps his promise to get back some of her inheritance from her aunt that his father's firm stole.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me appreciate what the conditions were like for people, especially women, who lived during the time that the Latter-day Saints were gathering to various places and making their way to Salt Lake City. For some people the experience was wrought with many hardships and sacrifices.

The story line is not based on any one person's life. However, the author did her share of research to help the reader understand what life was like working in the mills; which is where the main character worked until she joined the Church.

The book help my attention and it had a good ending, which is always a plus.

[Lachell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love historical fiction, and I especially love to learn more about events that I know little about. This story was a good overview of the Mormon pioneers that traveled by sea on the Brooklyn, arrived in San Francisco with the intent to meet Brigham Young's company there, only to learn that they had to cross the Sierra Nevada range to the Salt Lake Valley instead. Their journey was difficult and it makes you wonder how these people had the will to go on at times.
I like that the story told the life journey of the main character, showing the different stages of her search for a safe haven. I felt like the ending was rushed, but I enjoyed the story overall.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

While a compelling story in some ways - about a young woman's journey to joining the Church and the arduous, hardship-filled journey to the Salt Lake valley to join the other Saints - a bit cheesy and slow in other ways. I had to put down this book a couple of times before I got through it. Others may find more value, however in the lesson to be learned about how challenges one faces in life may compel one on the path that God intends for them in spite of themselves.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story of the pioneers that traveled from Boston to San Francisco by the Brooklyn ship. It touches on history of Sutters Fort, San Francisco,Sacramento and Salt Lake City and eventually what was probably later called St. George. It isnt a thorough account of the history but touches on many experiences that these pioneers would have experienced. Over all a very good read that I finished in just a couple of days. Sorry family....I am back now.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions of historical figures and events were intriguing and well-written. The characters and storyline were mostly plausible and fairly engaging. The ending, however, felt rushed and awkward. It seemed to me that the author was more interested in writing a history than a novel. Once the major events ended and obstacles were overcome, it was a race to wrap up the characters' lives to end the book as quickly as possible.

[Melissa’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great but little known story of the pioneers who traveled to California via ship from New York. Although the main characters are fictional, the experiences that they endure are based on the real stories of real pioneers. I thought the author did a great job of really making those experiences come alive through her fictional heroine. My only criticism would be that the ending seemed a bit rushed. All in all though it was a great read.

[Kris Irvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very well written for being an LDS novel. I was impressed with all the twists and turns the story took. And I liked the characters a lot.


I thought the ending was horrid and contrived. If only it hadn't ended like that. I just. What implausible ridiculousity.

Still a fun, light read. Great for when you want something to just chillax with.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. A young woman expects to marry her childhood friend and sweetheart, but after her father dies, her friend is told by his father to marry someone with more money. The young lady has many adventures, during which she meets the young man several times. They finally meet in the Salt Lake Valley during the time of the pioneers. My daughter and I both liked this book.

[Tausha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Very humbling. I am grateful for such strong examples of faith. There were some slow parts, but over all I appreciated all the history involved. I felt like the ending was pretty abrupt and would have loved seeing more of the story unfold after all the many trials, but for now I'll just believe they lived happily ever after. :)

[Dorry Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about the struggles of a girl & her family after the father dies. They eventually come in contact with the Mormons and decide to come to America. After arriving in N.Y. they take the ship Brooklyn heading for Calif. Most of us are aware of the hardships of that voyage. There was enough mystery, misfortune & excitement to want to read more.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this on audio a long time ago but hadn't finished it, after finally finishing it I am frustrated I didn't finish it sooner as it was a very delightful book! It is a historical fiction about some mormon pioneers who traveled by boat to California. There were some sad parts but I liked the ending. (though I was a little nervous at times how there could be a happy ending...)

[Tenille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, there are not many books about the pioneers who came on the Brooklyn. It was interesting to me to read since I had family that came on the same ship. Susanna faced a lot of hard times, but held onto her faith, even when it was hard.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.If you want to learn about history of Sam Brannan and his ship to Ca, the gold rush, ship sailing, young girls in textile mills, inheritance, the pioneer trek, etc., read this. If you are more interested in the story itself, don't read this. Finished 19th

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed seeing my family mentioned in the book. Captain James brown who settled Ogden. I wasn't too sure about the name of the ship doctor though. Dr. Seagraves doesn't instill a lot of confidence in making it through the journey.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a historical fiction about a girl who came to California on a boat from New York with Samuel Brannon. It was interesting, definitely read more like a list of facts then lots of story, but it was still interesting.