Trials of the earth

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

bailed

I give up. I bail. I tried several times, also skipping pages and skimming parts of the book but the "blunt voice that makes this memoir such a standout" is actually what I dislike. And I truly hate to admit it because it is such a remarkable book written by a remarkable woman. Sorry.

Suet624 I still think of this book and the amount of work that woman did. 😊 I never would have made it back then. 4y

Anna40 @Suet624 I agree. I might give it a try again. I think of my great-grandmother and everything she did and had to do in order to survive and provide for her children and she made it - I think we're more resilient than we think. 4y

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intothehallofbooks

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

My current read and it is fantastic!! ☕️ I love love love pioneer stories and this one begins in the 1880‘s.

Lcsmcat Sounds fascinating - stacked! 5y

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MaggieCarr

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

"I could see no way to live. It is strange that the more our loved ones depend on us, the harder it is to give them up."

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Suet624

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

pick

Hamilton tells her life story simply. There are no frills. Just the plain facts of a life I'm very happy not to experience. She was one of the first women to homestead in the Mississippi Delta. With her hardworking, yet often-absent husband, she raised her many children under extraordinary circumstances. This woman did more physical work in a year than I will do in 20. Our pioneer ancestors had such courage. I'm so happy she shared her story.

saresmoore What a nice synopsis! I haven't read the book, but I agree that reading about this particular life of hardship would be much preferable to living it. 8y

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Suet624

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

"From the beginning...it would be hard to imagine anyone seemingly less fitted for that kind of life than Mary Hamilton. But if Henry James is right, and I am inclined to agree with him, that we carry in our souls or egos or cores of our beings the germs of every event that happens to us, then Mary Hamilton's essence must be tragedy and courage." From the preface. [P.S. I will never complain about my circumstances ever again.] ?

Jaimelire This sounds amazing! 8y

saresmoore An essence of tragedy and courage. Wow. Mine's more of an essence of mild discomfort and deep thoughts. 🙃 8y

Suet624 @saresmoore 😂😂😂 mine was discontent and compassion. 😂😂 8y

BethFishReads Loved this! 8y

Suet624 @BethFishReads it was so good. 8y

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Suet624

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

This morning's read. What I've learned so far: there were so many unexpected ways to lose your loved ones.

Reviewsbylola The pioneers have always been so interesting to me. I can't even imagine the struggles they faced. 8y

saresmoore This brings to mind the computer game, Oregon Trail. So many ways to die! 8y

Suet624 @Reviewsbylola Me too. I lived a semi-pioneer life for about 4 years. No running water or electricity, animals, crops, etc. It felt very familiar to me, like I'd done it before. Fortunately we had medicine and closer hospitals. At this point I much prefer my lazy life. 8y

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Suet624 @saresmoore that game was so disturbing. I kept making the mistake of using my children's name as characters. When each one would die I would be bereft. While others might have wised up and stopped using their children's names, I, instead, had to stop playing the game. 8y

saresmoore @Suet624 Ha! I agree. I played it in school, and quickly learned that using the names of family made me sad and people I disliked made me feel guilty. There is no way to really win that game. Your homesteading life sounds amazing! (Except I really like indoor plumbing.) And I imagine you had done it before. Time is such a limiting human construct. 😊 8y

Suet624 @saresmoore you're right about the guilt aspect of that game. I'd forgotten about that. As for time: I agree again. I believe there's only the present moment. The past, present and future all happening at once. We can experience them all if we pay attention. 😁 8y

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Suet624

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

In honor of all the readathons going on this weekend, I am stacked and ready to go. Basketball and baseball may get in my way a little bit, but here I go. #deweys24hourreadathon #springcleaningreadathon

saresmoore Enjoy! But don't get overwhelmed, okay? 😬 SO MANY GOOD BOOKS! 🙃 8y

saresmoore Also, I don't think I've heard of any of these! 8y

Suet624 @saresmoore Thank you for that reminder. ? I did my random "close my eyes and run my fingers down the library shelves and grab." I find amazing books that way. 8y

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azulaco

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

I just listened to a podcast review of this book that I had archived for awhile. Oh man, I have to read this book. It sounds epic. It's a true account of pioneer life in the Mississippi Delta. Spoiler alert: it was really, really hard. This poor woman was trying to build a home in a wild swamp, with a frequently-absent husband and many, many children. Also, I'm interested to read a pioneer narrative that doesn't focus on the Far West, for once.

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annahenke

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman | Mary Mann Hamilton

#seasonsreadings2016 #wanttoreadindec #thelongwinterreadalong #litsyfeatuure

My ambitious reading list for this month! Also planning to listen to Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman by Mary Hamilton and doing a reread of The Long Winter for the fun of it. Anyone want to join me?