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Northwest #1
Heartbreak Trail
The Oregon Trail, a main artery to the promise of a better future, has a fierce reputation. Disease, weather extremes, and the threat of Indian attacks are known to every traveler. And still they go.
Rachel Buter, a determined beauty from Quincy, Illinois, is on this wagon train, though not by choice. All too soon she takes note of the intriguing presence of Reverend James Richards and the young physician, Tom Dorland, whose quiet appeal Rachel cannot deny.
Their prayers echo along the torrid miles, their pleas written on the wind. Where is the promise at the end of their journey?
Rachel Buter, a determined beauty from Quincy, Illinois, is on this wagon train, though not by choice. All too soon she takes note of the intriguing presence of Reverend James Richards and the young physician, Tom Dorland, whose quiet appeal Rachel cannot deny.
Their prayers echo along the torrid miles, their pleas written on the wind. Where is the promise at the end of their journey?
- GenresChristian Romance
176 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 1997
7 people want to read
About the author
VeraLee Wiggins
38 books4 followersVERALEE WIGGINS has been a favorite of Heartsong readers for a long time. With nine Heartsongs to her credit, she said, 'I want my readers to know that God loves them much more than any earthly person does, and desperately wants them to love Him, too. I want to show that following Him is the best and happiest way to go.' Through her books, she wanted to increase the reader's faith.
VeraLee went home to be with the Lord on December 24, 1995, and will be sadly missed. She has since been inducted into the Heartsong Hall of Fame.
VeraLee went home to be with the Lord on December 24, 1995, and will be sadly missed. She has since been inducted into the Heartsong Hall of Fame.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 4, 2023
What happened to the kid Willie? After they loaded their things in a boat Willie was not mentioned if Rachel and Tom adopted him or if he was reunited with his sister Martha.
April 28, 2012
Nice story that accomplished what it was trying to do, overall. The plot development was erratic at points, and the characters oftentimes weren't believable, albeit they were predictable. (The people who love God have noble, happy, and peaceful dispositions, and everyone who doesn't love Him is either overtly cruel or a grump.) However, the noblest character wasn't above having a crisis of faith--even if the crisis wasn't well developed, it did fit the pace of the story as a whole and made the character more human.
The harshness of the Oregon Trail wasn't glossed over, which was good. I myself began to feel sorry for the weary, limping, bleeding oxen, struggling to pull wagons across rough terrain in merciless weather, needing to get across the country before the weather would become too unbearable for anyone to survive in. And I also liked how the irony of the situation the native peoples were in wasn’t overlooked, that they weren’t merely relegated to being “Indians” who did strange Indian things. The sentiment raised on the wagon train basically was, “Even though we came in, drew lines, and called these U.S. Territories, we have to remember that other people were here first.” The increasing animal carcasses, abandoned pieces of furniture, and graves along the trail, left behind by previous trailblazers, were telling. (I did wonder why there would be visible graves, though, if the custom was to ride the animals and wagons over the graves after burying people, to hide the gravesites from predators. I haven't researched it, but perhaps the previous trailblazers hadn't yet adopted that custom.)
I won't mind reading more from Wiggins.
The harshness of the Oregon Trail wasn't glossed over, which was good. I myself began to feel sorry for the weary, limping, bleeding oxen, struggling to pull wagons across rough terrain in merciless weather, needing to get across the country before the weather would become too unbearable for anyone to survive in. And I also liked how the irony of the situation the native peoples were in wasn’t overlooked, that they weren’t merely relegated to being “Indians” who did strange Indian things. The sentiment raised on the wagon train basically was, “Even though we came in, drew lines, and called these U.S. Territories, we have to remember that other people were here first.” The increasing animal carcasses, abandoned pieces of furniture, and graves along the trail, left behind by previous trailblazers, were telling. (I did wonder why there would be visible graves, though, if the custom was to ride the animals and wagons over the graves after burying people, to hide the gravesites from predators. I haven't researched it, but perhaps the previous trailblazers hadn't yet adopted that custom.)
I won't mind reading more from Wiggins.
August 9, 2011
My mom got a collection of Christian romance books when I was a kid and this was one of them. The others I don't remember, but this one I remembered well enough to want to re-read.
Not great, but I like the basic story here. Oregon Trail romances! Fun! I kind of wanted to know what happened to some of the characters though. (ETA: Ooooh, looks like there might be some sequels.)
Not great, but I like the basic story here. Oregon Trail romances! Fun! I kind of wanted to know what happened to some of the characters though. (ETA: Ooooh, looks like there might be some sequels.)
August 6, 2018
I loved it! I've wanted Rachel to be with Tom! :)
8-3-18
Wow, Rachel really annoyed me, especially with all the stuff about the animals. But it ended good.
8-3-18
Wow, Rachel really annoyed me, especially with all the stuff about the animals. But it ended good.
January 22, 2014
Really good!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews