Never Waste Tears

In the 1840’s five very different people started out on a journey.  None were 100% sure where it would take them, but they were excited about the new adventures that lay ahead. Nathan and Rebecca came from two different worlds, and believed the love they had for each other would be enough to see them through anything. Carl and Hannah came from humble beginnings, but had grown up together. When Carl came home from the war, although he wasn't wounded physically, he had a dream of moving to Kansas in order to escape the mental demons that chased him. Then Hannah’s sister, Sarah, who had lost her husband to the war, moved to the Prairie after her parent’s death and to be close to her sister. None of the characters' lives were easy and all were challenged by loneliness, hunger, sickness, and death.

Gloria Zachgo has written a well thought-out outline for what could become a wonderful book if it could be more fleshed out. Having each character’s view of the same situations can be extremely confusing and most readers may find it a distraction. Along with fleshing out of story, it might prove useful to really study the use of secondary characters and what they can to do add to the overall story. Ms. Zachgo has characters that are interesting and she has a vast array of personalities that are unexpected and come from some of the secondary characters. Those characters could really be an integral part of the wonderful story she has started. 

Mary-Nancy Smith