Running before the Prairie Wind

by Anne Ipsen

Set in southwestern Minnesota in 1890, Running before the Prairie Wind tells of Karen and Peter Larsen's struggle to retain their Good Life by dealing with suppressed memories. Peter, the former captain of a tall ship, compares life on their bountiful pioneer farm to sailing with the wind at his back, and Karen is a catalyst for change in the lives of everyone around her. She inspires an Indian girl to explore her mixed-blood heritage and a Jewish friend to fulfill his gifts. But even Peter's natural exuberance can not keep the oncoming storm at bay when tragedy at a neighboring farm brings back ghosts from the past. Only with the help of a Quaker woman can the couple overcome lingering guilt and once more fill their sails.

242 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2009

About the author

Anne Ipsen is a writer, speaker, and environmentalist. Her latest book, co-authored with Ken Kroes, is a guide to houses of worship and their congregations for how to cut their carbon footprints called "Creation Tithing, a Primer." Her most recent novel is "Green Valley," is about New England resilience under the challenge of climate change, starting in 2022. New England. An excerpt was published in 2018 in "Anthology House." "Green Valley" follows the descendants of characters introduced In her historical novel sequence "At the Concord of the Rivers," (2011) and "Abigail's Legacy" (2014), in which Anne explores her interest in history and love of the special town of Concord by spinning a tale of the accidental time-traveler Abigail’s sojourn with the Puritans in 1692 and the consequences for her and her new friends.
An earlier historical novel sequence follows the lives of Karen and Peter in the period 1875-1890. They were born in Denmark, sailed around the world and eventually settled on the Minnesota prairie. Anne's first books were two memoirs about her childhood in Denmark and teenage years in Boston, where she grew up and went to school.
Before leaving academia in order to write full-time, Anne was a Professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. She and her husband now live in Newton, Massachusetts. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[John Royce · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Running Before the Prairie Wind” is a sequel to the author’s “Karen from the Mill,” which follows the lives of a Danish woman, Karen Larsen née Andersen, and her seafaring husband as they immigrate to America. This second novel not only continues the story, but reflects the wider experiences of Danish settlers making their way in their new country while honoring the old.

The author, Anne Ipsen, is a gifted storyteller with an authentic voice expressing love of Danish culture based on her own experiences immigrating to America after WWII. The story flows with smooth narration, weaving memorable details and explanations of Danish cultural customs along with the authentic observation of the author.

The writing and structure gives the work a sense of an illumed experience. The main character, Karen, stands out as a spirited but committed immigrant the reader grows to care about both as the fiction character, and as a representative of a cultural struggle. The story’s conflicts resonate with underlying emotion, and the pressures on the relationship of a seaman husband and home-centered wife are portrayed with exceptional depth.

The sequel “Running Before the Prairie Wind” establishes Ipsen’s work as a fine series for the reader wishing an authentic and heartfelt portrayal of Danish experience in America, celebrating a hopeful, resilient immigrant spirit while remaining true to Old Country ties and traditions.