Searching for Tamsen Donner

American Lives

by Gabrielle Burton

Tamsen Donner. For most the name conjures the ill-fated Donner party trapped in the snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846–47. Others might know Tamsen as the stoic pioneer woman who saw her children to safety but stayed with her dying husband at the cost of her own life. For Gabrielle Burton, Tamsen’s story, fascinating in its own right, had long seemed something the story of a woman’s life writ large, one whose impossible balancing of self, motherhood, and marriage spoke to Burton’s own experience.


This book tells of Burton’s search to solve the mystery of Tamsen Donner for herself. A graceful mingling of history and memoir, Searching for Tamsen Donner follows Burton and her husband, with their five daughters, on her journey along Tamsen’s path. From Tamsen’s birthplace in Massachusetts to North Carolina, where she lost her first family in the space of three months; to Illinois, where she married George Donner; and finally to the fateful Oregon Trail, Burton recovers one woman’s compelling history through a modern-day family’s adventure into realms of ultimately timeless experiences. Here Burton has for the first time collected and published together all seventeen of Tamsen’s known letters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Biography Memoir

328 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

Died September 3, 2015.

Gabrielle Burton, awarded an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, currently splits her time between her Buffalo home and Los Angeles, where she is involved with her daughters' Five Sisters Production Company. Burton is the author of Heartbreak Hotel as well as the nonfiction work I'm Running Away from Home, But I'm Not Allowed to Cross the Street: A Primer on Women's Liberation (1972).

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nicest husbands and children will eat you up alive if you offer yourself on the plate, and they’ll ask for seconds.

I heard of this book while attending the past Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. On a panel called ‘Literary Reputations in Motion,’ Maureen Corrigan mentioned it as one of the books she wished was better known. I had no big interest in the Donner Party, but her description of the book intrigued me, as well as the above quote, which Corrigan quoted from memory.

Many of us have obsessions—historical, literary or otherwise. Tamsen Donner, wife of the purported head of the so-called Donner Party, was Burton’s obsession. At first, thinking she would follow Tamsen’s trail by herself on a motorcycle, Burton realized she was ill-equipped (i.e. scared) to take such a trip. Instead, in 1977, with her husband a more than willing partner, they and their five daughters, ranging in ages from thirteen to almost six, took off in their station wagon for a road trip. Anyone who has undergone a pilgrimage—historical, literary or otherwise—will understand how Burton felt as she reaches what she calls “Tamsen’s Tree,” believed (at least at that time) to be the site where Tamsen stayed with her husband (after sending off their daughters with rescue parties) as he lay dying.

The book is more than just the story of the Burton family following in Tamsen’s footsteps and of the locals they meet along their way, some of whom are as passionate about others of the Donner Party as Burton is about Tamsen. It’s an introspective journey as well: of Burton’s consciousness being raised (starting in the late 60s when she had only three daughters) as she wrote professionally (or tried to) while staying at home with her children; of her search for a historical role model for herself and her daughters; and of the (re)creation of what Tamsen might have been doing or thinking at any particular time.

Burton quotes from Tamsen’s extant letters over the course of the narrative and they are published in their (known) entirety at the back of the book. The letters start when Tamsen is 20, maybe younger, as she travels alone to teach. Her quick intelligence is in even further evidence as she relates to her sister the triumphs of her boarders (students) and the tragedies that befall her, all before she married George Donner; and then her renewed optimism in her 40s as she prepares to make her way west with George and their five daughters (two of them are her stepdaughters).

Burton writes in a colloquial style and a couple of slang words jarred at times, but the book is an absorbing account of both women’s lives, and she always writes respectfully of Tamsen and the rest of the pioneers who perished, as well as those who survived. Readers who already know about the Donner Party may find the historical information redundant: I can’t speak to that as it was just about all new to me. Mostly, for me at least, Burton has turned the tragic name of Tamsen Donner into a real person, which is what the best of writing can achieve.

And the quote at the top of my review? It isn’t necessarily about Burton’s family, but about her guilt over writing while raising children, though her five grown daughters assure her they had the best of childhoods. The quote starts off: Sometimes I’ve looked at my beloved family and wondered if it was really necessary to ask so much of them and myself, but that’s sentimental “wouldn’t it have been nice if…” thinking. If I hadn’t, I never would have written, and I know I’d do it over again.

[Kathrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very confused as to what Burton was trying to accomplish here. I understand her fascination with Tamsen, and if I didn't, I probably wouldn't have been drawn to this book. If you're not already predisposed, the gist of this book isn't enough to draw you in. Burton has written a thin biography of Tamsen, layered with lots of personal reflections and parallels, and the recollection of a family adventure retracing the pioneer trail of the Donner party that took place 30-some years ago. Was Burton just too unwilling to let go of an experience that changed her but never got published way back when? I never understood what brought her back to it so many years later, other than I now see she's finally published her fictionalized account of Tamsen. I'm fascinated by the visits to important landmarks and how they were viewed, displayed, memorialized or forgotten back in 1977, but I also really want to know how they are treated today. Did Burton just not have time to check in on them? This book touches on a theme I've encountered a couple times in the last few years of my reading -- how historical landmarks become memorials that become again a new form of historical landmark as a memorial. This phenomenon has been investigated brilliantly in Sarah's Mount Vernon, Washington's estate. I wish Burton had investigated a little more deeply into the current research and memorialization of the Donner Party, and perhaps addressed the lack of attention or accuracy towards pioneer history in today's world, as opposed to 1977.

[Caroline Traylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof, almost didn’t finish this one. I picked it up thinking it was a biography of the Donner Party but the history of the book’s namesake was saved for the *very* end of this ~300 page book. I slogged through the road trip/memoir portion and felt confused and a little annoyed wondering why the author insisted on forcing this parallel between her life and Tamsen Donner’s. It’s okay to be fascinated by and feel drawn to a historical figure and take measures to better understand their lives - but the comparisons drawn between Burton’s life and Donner’s felt contrived and self-absorbed. When she spoke about quitting smoking and burying her pack of cigarettes at the Donner campsite because she was “choosing life” in the same way that Tamsen fought for survival… cringe and unhinged. It’s definitely not the same! I also didn’t understand the central, internal conflict Burton described identifying as a mother and a writer and worrying she was failing at both. She writes “The nicest husbands and children will eat you up if you offer yourself on the plate, and they’ll ask for seconds”. I understand the effect she was going for, but from everything she shared, this didn’t seem to be her case, (or even Tamsen’s, who was excited about the journey/emigrating to California). The author’s family cherished her and put their lives on pause to take a cross country road trip to support her dreams. She raised 5 children, wrote 4 books and seems to have achieved everything she set out to. She kept describing an issue that I couldn’t see. I felt like I was primed to love this book, as a feminist raised by a career-oriented mother, who loves learning about history’s forgotten heroines, but I did not. The whole time I wished I’d been either reading a memoir by a second-wave feminist OR a historical account of the Donner Party, because the combination of both gave me whiplash and fell flat.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. It’s about Tamsen Donner but also it’s not. It’s about being a woman and a mom and a writer and finding a place to be all of those things together, particularly in the 1970s. I loved Burton’s style and the blend of memoir and history with road trip shenanigans. The pacing is wonderful, it held my attention throughout and was so validating and interesting. Highly recommend.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabrielle Burton, mother of 5 daughters and aspiring writer, discovers the historical Tamsen Donner during the heyday of the women's movement in the 70's. Upon hearing about the Donner party of 1845-46, she immediately connects with Tamsen, the mother, also of 5 daughters, and wife of adventurer George Donner, who leave the safety and security of their Illinois home behind them to travel to California. With a series of ill-fated decisions and circumstances, the party is trapped in the Sierra Nevadas and must spend the winter camped there in the most difficult of circumstances. While the 5 girls are eventually rescued and taken to safety, both Tamsen and George, as well as many other members of the party, die in the mountains.

Burton, determined to write a novel about Tamsen, takes a summer to retrace the steps of the Donner party. With her come her husband and 5 girls, ages 5 to 14. They pack camping gear in their station wagon and set off for an adventure that will shape the rest of their lives. IN this memoir, Burton interweaves her family's trip with historical accounts from Tamsen's life and the Donner party. Additionally, Burton writes about her attempt to find a balance between writer and mother.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this memoir.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting account of one woman's obsession with a historical figure she felt a connection with. I wish there were less reverence for the emigrants and more feeling for their invasion of native lands, but I loved the descriptions of their family trip in the 70s to trace the Donner Party trail.

[Jenny]

Includes Tamsen’s letters

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wavering back-and-forth between one and two stars. The author is absolutely insufferable.

Review to come. Maybe.

[Elevate Difference · Rating 5 out of 5]

Searching for Tamsen Donner

By Gabrielle Burton
University of Nebraska Press

Westward expansion meets the women’s movement in Gabrielle Burton’s Searching for Tamsen Donner, a memoir about a mother’s journey West in the path of the doomed Donner Party pioneers of 1846-7. Most people associate the Donner Party legacy with cannibalism. The pioneers spent a horrific winter stranded in the Sierra Nevadas with no supplies; forty-two died and many of the remaining members survived on the remains of their friends and family.

Tamsen Donner, wife of the party’s captain, stayed behind with her dying husband as the last relief party left with her children. Her name has gone down in history as a paragon of traditional womanly virtue, a loyal wife who sacrificed her own life to be with her husband in his last moments. In Searching for Tamsen Donner, Burton seeks to show a different side of Tamsen, one that showcases her many roles as wife, mother, schoolteacher, botanist, letter writer, and traveler against the background of the Donner Party legend. As William Lederer tells Burton at a Bread Loaf writer’s conference in 1972, “Most people survive by eating each other. You’re going to write a book that shows a better way.”

Five years later, Burton sets off en route to California from New York with her family, weaving together the history of Tamsen Donner through pioneer gravesites and memorials, museums, maps, scholarly research, and surviving letters and diaries from the Donner party. Burton’s memoir charts her own participation in the feminist movements of the sixties and seventies, and her decision to become a writer while caring for a husband and five daughters. Burton’s struggle to balance career with family is a central tension of her journey. “I was afraid the summer would go and we’d find we had piddled the trip away in side trips to snake farms and Stucky shops,” she writes, these family diversions suggesting that, “I was not a writer at all but always and exclusively a mother.”

Burton’s family is supportive, however, and their cooperation and support efface the home/career divide that underscores popular images of successful women. With Tamsen in the foreground, Burton reminds us that history is filled with strong women—women who juggled domestic duties and personal aspirations long before movements for political equality had met with any success.

Searching for Tamsen Donner is also a road story, and much of the pleasure of reading Burton’s memoir lies in the plucky characters she meets throughout her journey. These characters straddle history and modernity, blending tales of local life with their own struggles as farmers, small business owners, and casino employees. They also tell the story of the careless destruction of American landscapes—of highways built over historical markers, vandalized memorials, and toxic government testing sites. These acts of destruction present a very different picture from the serene visual landscapes described by Tamsen in her extant letters, all of which appear in Burton’s memoir.

Burton’s emphasis on pioneer history occasionally seems to leave unquestioned the frontier mythology of discovery, the manifest destiny that masks nineteenth-century imperialist narratives of westward expansion. Burton’s self-identified focus on Tamsen shows that a more complete depiction of pioneer history and its displacements and dispossessions are beyond the scope of her memoir, but sometimes one wishes for a less peripheral depiction of Native and Mexicans populations in her retelling of Tamsen’s journey West. Burton’s quibbles with the Mormon Church and culture, too, may seem a bit strident to third wavers. But Burton’s account of her journey and Tamsen’s are (second wave) at its best, and her story is an inspiration to all women seeking to balance personal ambitions, adventure, and family.

Arriving just in time for summer road trip planning, Searching for Tamsen Donner is a moving exploration of a legendary American woman through the eyes of a modern heroine.

Review by Barbara Smith

[Kelly Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few people have recommended Searching for Tamsen Donner to me. Given that my book was this close to being called In Search of Laura Ingalls Wilder, that seems appropriate. Author Gabrielle Burton and I are certainly kindred spirits in many ways: Irish Catholic, quirky/obsessive, in awe of our heroine, with a penchant for travel on remote western highways. We try to connect with a person from the past to understand who we are in the present. We both have a maps that show our journeys. (The heroines compared to ours). Our books are more memoir than scholarship, the focus being our personal journey.

And, um, we're both a tad obsessive.

The stories of Tamsen Donner versus Laura Ingalls Wilder, of course, are completely different. Tamsen Donner was the wife of the George Donner of the fated Donner Party. While on their pioneer journey to California, the wagon train became trapped in the Sierra Nevadas. Many starved while some resorted to cannibalism to survive. (Tamsen Donner died.) Burton's focus, though, is not on the tragedy, but on the story this brave, intelligent, resourceful woman who inspired her.

There are other differences in Burton's story and mine. Burton traveled in a station wagon with her husband and five daughters (Tamsen Donner also had five daughters, who survived). I drove alone. Burton published in 2009 about a trip she took in the seventies, meaning there's two histories here. I admit, I admired Burton's determined hauling of a reel to reel tape recorder to take interviews. I scribbled notes and took random video on my digital camera.

What I realized soon into my reading, was that if I were a character in this book, I'm a daughter in the back seat. My parents were huge campers. I was hauled all over the Smokey Mountains and State Parks and beyond. We put up those giant, canvas tents with poles suitable for jousting. Each day my mother carefully recorded our expenses in a tiny lined notepad. Burton describes 1979 as thrifty times. They were! I remember collecting S & H Green Stamps and saving up for toaster. Her daughters likewise reveled in the spirit of Scrooging. It's hard to explain, but it was fun as a kid to search for dimes in phone booths. Score!

Searching for Tamsen Donner is set within the times of second wave feminism. Burton began to remind me of my mother, who was also determined to carve out a meaningful intellectual life. In the seventies, this kind of ambition was not the norm for women. Burton writes a great deal about how she struggled with guilt (I mentioned the Catholic background, right?), wondering if she was selfish for dragging her family all over the country on her quests. I remember my mother working on her dissertation, typing fiendishly in the days when White-Out was the fine link to sanity. I wanted my mother's complete attention all the time, the way children do. But she also taught me, by how she was, to believe in my ability to accomplish.

There's more I could write (our search for relics, Nevada) but here I'll stop. I'll end by saying anyone who enjoys a good pioneer story (as I suspect a reader of my blog might), I suggest Searching for Tamsen Donner.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes an interesting but not outstanding "companion" to Daniel Brown's The Indifferent Stars Above , another book about one of the Donner Party's women which I found far superior in both research and subtlety. The memoir approach Burton uses here, and her ruminations on writing and motherhood, felt self-absorbed and trivial to me. But despite my restlessness through some of the segments concerning her feminist awakening and attempts to integrate homelife and artistic aspirations, the segments in which Burton recounts her family's road trip along the Donner trail three decades ago shine with both imagination and authenticity. She examines her longtime fascination with Tamsen Donner in a matter-of-fact way that rings true, channeling her admiration into a subtle portrait of a strong, independent-minded woman who pursued her interests while also fulfilling society's expectations; who was both accomplished academic and dedicated family woman; who endured heartbreak and rebuilt her life after the deaths of her first husband and children, only to see a happy life with her second family turn into a nightmare beyond comprehension.

Burton's research coup is assembling all of Tamsen Donner's extant letters in one place, and the woman they portray is formidable: opinionated, inquisitive, firm in her expectations of others, and disinclined to self-indulgence or brooding. With such enduring strength standing behind them, it's not surprising that all the children of her second family survived their winter of entrapment and privation. It is simply a shame that this capable and long-suffering woman never made it to balmy, fertile California, but was likely murdered just days from rescue by a traveling companion with far less strength of character.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Burton's "Impatient With Desire" last month (a selection of my book group), I looked for her earlier book, "Searching for Tamsen Donner", a memoir telling the reader about her (Burton's) obsession with Tamsen Donner and the Donner Party. It was a fascinating read for me, especially having just read "Impatient With Desire", historical fiction, based on Burton's years of research. I am glad I read the fiction first, even though it was published second. Burton filled in the voids of what is known of the Donner Party's journey west in 1845/46, and describes their fate, some of which is known, and some of which Burton "made up" based on her research. Once again, a book group selection caused me to stretch my reading parameters. Most folks I talked with about these books has heard of the Donner Party, even my 14 year old granddaughter. I had not heard of this historical event, or if I learned about it in school, I had totally forgotten it. This is an awesome story of determination, both to seek a new and better life, and then to survive in the face of horrendous obstacles. Yes, cannibalism is part of the story, but the context makes it less abhorrent, at least to me.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both history and memoir woven together so skillfully that one never loses one story in search of another. Gabrielle Burton takes her husband and five daughters on an adventure to follow the 1846 trail of the Donner Party over the Sierras to California. We have all heard the story, seen it in documentaries and perhaps read a story or two about the now infamous cannibals. But the story is much larger than that one small incident which happened late in the trip. This is a story of a woman who against all odds manages to deliver two of her daughters to California, losing her life in the process. It is about breaking barriers and boundaries and making our own rules when there are none in place. The parallel story is Gabrielle's yearning to understand who Tamsen Donner was and how she survived as long as she did. Burton is no athletic outdoors person and the trip wears on her physically and emotionally but it also gives her strength and a wealth of knowledge. The people she meets along the way add a bit of spice to the stew. This is a wonderful story that simply must be read by every woman who has wondered if she had "the right stuff."

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostensibly the tragic tale of Tamsen Donner, this is really a book about America in the 1970's, feminism, and especially a mother's relationship with her daughters. If you've ever gone on a road trip in the family station wagon, you will be dying of envy as you read about Burton's quest to follow the Donner Party's wagon ruts during a summer vacation with her husband and five daughters.

The long, drawn-out period between chasing the story and writing the book spans a sea change in how historical research is done, so the book is of interest not only for its subject, but also for the way it documents the evolution of historical research.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became hooked on the Donner story after reading this book and Gabrielle Burton's "Impatient with Desire; The Lost Journal of Tamsen Donner." This spring I decided to follow the Donner track from Springfield Ill to Truckee, CA as the Burton family did in 1977. These two books were excellent companions for the trip and provided interesting insights to places and historical events along the track. There are some stark differences between the Burton's 1977 trip and replicating it now: the internet, Google Maps, GPS, etc provide a wealth of information and make the trip much easier. The greater respect and understanding our country now has for this time in our history was evident all along the trail. For example, Alcove Spring is now a beautiful park preserved by the Alcove Spring Historic Trust and the National Park Service. If you are interested, you can read about my solo motorcycle trip at link: snarzand.tumblr.com

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gabrielle Burton has a bit of an obsession with Tamsen Donner, who was the wife of George Donner and a prominent member of the eponymous and tragic Donner Party of 1846. In 1977, as part of her research for a novel she plans to write, Gabrielle packs her husband and five daughters into their station wagon and sets off from Illinois to retrace the steps of Tamsen Donner on her fateful journey West, passing the same landmarks, sleeping where Tamsen slept, and attempting to view the landscape, over 100 years later, through the eyes of those early pioneers.

I especially enjoyed the Burton family's own travelogue chapters, reminiscent of some other travel adventure memoirs I've read, but I think I wished that it the rest had been fleshed out more, and for that reason I struggled with whether to rate it three or four stars. Regardless, it sounds like Gabrielle Burton has an amazing family dynamic and five strong, confident, incredible, kick-ass daughters.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really liked this, even though I felt it didn't quite work as a book. The story of a modern family going on a trip along the Oregon Trail helps bring the history to life. I liked hearing Burton's thoughts about Tamsen Donner and her reactions to the historical monuments or objects that she and her family saw. She threw in a lot of anecdotes that seemed to be more about her own reminiscences about the trip than serving any purpose in the book, and some of the events that felt personally meaningful to her (like quitting smoking) seemed trivial when set alongside the story of the snowed-in and starving Donner family. The author's thoughts about balancing her family and her independent identity worked pretty well alongside the story of Tamsen Donner, given the latter's own sacrifices for her husband and children and the fact that in this case Burton's personal concerns connected to larger issues.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Gabrielle Burton, came to the monthly meeting of our Genealogical Society here in Santa Barbara. Her talk was superb - and intriguing. On a whim, I bought her book and thought I would read it some day. When I got home, I picked it up and was amazed that I could hardly put it down. I finished it off on the 2nd day. Of course, being a Californian, I am always interested in the story of the Donner Party coming over the Sierras. The whole story (including cannibalism) has captured the minds of boys in California for generations. THIS story tells that (from Tamsen Donner's viewpoint, as a woman), but also tells the story of the author's OWN family as they set out to travel in Tamsen Donner's path across the country. DELIGHTFUL. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having personally visited and followed parts of the Oregon/California trail and having taught American History, Gabielle Burton and her family lived out a dream of mine. Her account of following in the Donner party's footsteps while examining closely the monuments, roads and trails and talking to people and experts along the way was fascinating. The fact that they did it in a run down old station wagon with seven people in the car was inspiring.

[SuzieSeaOtter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Northern California, you learn and hear a lot about the Donnor Part. I liked the book's perspective from the author's seach for herself. I would like to know why it took her 32 years to publish it. She writes quite a bit about her original novel concept but we never learn why she changed to the publised format. Minor detail. Very readable. Both a travelogue of the American West, history lesson and life searching.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. It is a weaving of memoir and history. She writes of her struggles trying to be a writer, a mother to five girls and one of the "pioneers" of the Women's Liberation Movement in the 60's, among other things. The history part surrounds the Donner family and their tragic trek across the country on the Oregon Trail. Burton and her family followed in the Donner's wagon tracks on a road trip of their own. This is funny, sad (understatement), interesting and just a joy to read.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of 2101
Second, two books by Gabrielle Burton, a writer now in her 70s, who's near near-lifelong obsession with Tamsen Donner, the wife of the leader of the notorious Donner Party inspired her to write a fabulous on-the-road feminist memoir called "Searching for Tamsen Donner," as well as an evocative recreation of Tamsen's lost journal called "Impatient With Desire."

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoir is a genre I enjoy reading so I enjoyed this book. At times, the parallels between the author's life and Tamsen Donner's felt a little contrived. However, most of the writing was good. I thought the author's quest to write authentically and truthfully about Tamsen Donner was worth the read. The short segments with details of everyday life of the time brought Tamsen's cross country wagon trip to life.

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is less about Tamsen Donner and the ill-fated Donner Party and more about the writer's inability to be both a mother and a writer simultaneously. I don't quite understand what the issue is. I'm both; Theodora Goss is, Jane Yolen is, Elizabeth Barrette Browning was, also Isabella Beeton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Tabitha King, and countless others. So what, exactly is the issue? I'm going to look up several of her references for history on the Donner Party for a more complete history.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, because of the information about Tamsen Donner and her journey. The author's trip, following the Donner party's trail, took place in 1977, so it seemed a little strange that his book was just published in 2009. Some of her personal reflections were less interesting, but the family's experiences were entertaining, and her feelings about Tamsen real. I plan to read her novel about Tamsen Donner soon.

[Susan Rankin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up reading, because the story dragged, and too much about her personal journey and not enough to learn about the Donner party and Tamsen Donner.
In the end, there is so little known, so much was conjecture, it wasn't worth reading, and I REALLY wanted to like this book.
I did find myself really liking the author and her family, just didn't all tie together for me.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once I got past the author's constant clamor about how hard she made it on her family to ever get not just this book but three others written (one other published) and shut out the noise of her self-deprecation concerning her ego, this was actually a moderately interesting story of a family following, albeit by car at their leisure, in the wheel ruts of the Donner-Reed party.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally loved this book - it is a strange read and wonderful. It's non-fiction. Gabrielle Burton follows the Donner Family's doomed attempt to cross the country. The book takes place both in the Donner's time and in Burton's 1970s present as she tried to figure out how to be a writer and a mother of 5 early in the women's movement. Loved it!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into it and the way Burton was weaving her story and the history of the Donner party together, but after that I really enjoyed it. Just enough of the history to satisfy one ( or piqué ones interest to learn more), and by the end of the book I really liked the authors family, and it's clear that she does too.