Book Review: A Harvest of Hope (Song of Blessing #2) by Lauraine Snelling

 A Harvest of Hope (Song of Blessing #2). Author: Lauraine Snelling (2015). 352 pages. Genre: Historical Fiction

First Lines:  "Blessing, North Dakota.  Mid-September 1905.  Be careful, pay attention were the only thoughts to have when sitting down to milk this particular cow.  Trygve Knutson had learned the hard way, and the bucket had been nearly full."

Summary:  Miriam Hastings is called home to Chicago part way into her nurse's training in Blessing, North Dakota.  Her mother is ill.  She has begun to get to know the families in Blessing and would really like to finish her training there.  Not to mention the young man who refuses to let her forget him.  Her nursing supervisor gives her permission to return to Blessing and finish her training there.  Unfortunately, her mother passes away and Miriam is hesitant to leave her brothers and sisters in Chicago.  However, they encourage her to go.

When she returns to Blessing she is struck by how it feels like home to her.  How is that possible when she has only spent a few months there?  The Bjorklund and Knutson families have welcomed her into their homes and lives.  They invite her to church and to have Sunday dinner with them.  She resumes her role at the hospital and is glad to be back.  The town is still fairly new and is growing and changing.  Along with that comes growing pains.  The banker has made some bad decisions and is now denying loans to the people of the town.  Dr. Elizabeth is having a difficult pregnancy and has been ordered to stay in bed, leaving Dr. Astrid with more work.   Winter is coming and many of the people living in tent town and working in Blessing will need proper shelters.  But life continues on.  Can the town pull together and take care of the needs in their midst?

My thoughts:  The story picks up right where it left off in the first book, To Everything a Season.  I would definitely recommend starting with that book if you are interested in this series.  That book was one of my favorite reads of 2019.  I am not sure why it has taken me so long to get back to this series, but I am so glad I did.

These stories all make up a family saga and are as much about the families that make up Blessing as they are about the town of Blessing.  The matriarch of this series is Ingeborg Bjorklund.  She is a wonderful example of a wife, mother, grandmother and friend.  Her home and family are of utmost importance to her.  But she is also quick to welcome in anyone who is in need of a family.  She isn't perfect and has struggles, but she tries to live a life pleasing to God.  

Miriam has come to Blessing to train in the hospital there.  The hospital is run by Dr. Astrid (Bjorklund) Jeffers, daughter of Ingeborg and Dr. Elizabeth Bjorklund, daughter-in-law of Ingeborg.  It was unusual for woman to become doctors in this time period, so this is interesting.  I enjoyed the medical situations in the book and the descriptions of the procedures and processes by both the doctors and nurses.  As I have mentioned before, I enjoy stories involving midwives.  There are some birthing situations in the story as well as other medical problems.  There is nothing very graphic, rather descriptions of what is happening so that you feel like you are there helping with the procedure.  Miriam is welcomed into the Bjorklund and Knutson families.  Trygve Knutson has declared his love for her, but does she love him back?  She is not sure what love between a man and woman actually feels like.  She enjoys spending time with Trygve, her heart beats faster when he is around, but is this love?  And what about her family in Chicago?  If she decides to make a life in Blessing, what will become of them.  These are the things she is wrestling with.  However, they don't dominate the story and I appreciated that.  

These families know how to pray!  There are some wonderful prayers in the story and good examples of how to handle problems and difficulties that arise between family members and people living in a town.  The men are strong, courageous, kind and protective of women.  The women are brave, strong, competent and feminine.  

As an interesting side note, my paternal grandmother's maiden name was Knutson and she grew up in North Dakota.  Her married name and my maiden name was Moyer.  In the front of the book, the author has included a family tree.  In this family tree there are Knutsons and Moyers.  This was intriguing to me and I wondered what caused Ms. Snelling to choose these names for her characters.  So I emailed her and asked.  She was very gracious and sent me a nice note back.  In regards to the names, here was her response:

"I have to admit it was a random draw from my bank of names.  I have an uncle with the name Knutson which is probably why that name is in my bank.  As to Moyer, it was a random choice."

I love these stories and highly recommend them to anyone enjoys historical fiction or stories featuring strong families.