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    Leaving Independence
    Leaving Independence
    Leaving Independence
    Audiobook11 hours

    Leaving Independence

    Written by Leanne W. Smith

    Narrated by Nicol Zanzarella

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Abigail Baldwyn might not be a widow after all…

    Ever since she received word that her husband, Robert, was killed in the Civil War, Abigail has struggled to keep her Tennessee home and family together. Then a letter arrives claiming that Robert isn’t dead, yet he has no plans to return. Desperate for answers, Abigail travels to Independence, Missouri, where she joins a westbound wagon train to find him.

    Leading a company along the Oregon Trail isn’t part of Hoke Mathews’s plans. But then the former cavalry scout gets a glimpse of Abigail—so elegant compared to the rest of their hardscrabble wagon community, yet spirited and resilient. Through every peril they encounter—snakebites, Indian raids, fevers, dangerous grudges—his bond with Abigail grows.

    Abigail knew this journey would test her courage. Now it’s testing her marriage vows and her heart, daring her to claim a future on her own terms in a land rich with promise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJun 21, 2016
    ISBN9781522614814
    Leaving Independence
    Author

    Leanne W. Smith

    Leaving Independence is Leanne Wood Smith’s first historical novel. In addition to writing, she teaches for a university in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and a son-in-law. Leanne believes that when something calls to you, you should journey toward it. Visit her website at www.leannewsmith.com for inspiration in pursuing personal and career-related dreams.

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    Reviews for Leaving Independence

    4.5/5

    27 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Once the wagon wheels start rolling, this story is an interesting look at some of the struggles and trials many pioneers of the Oregon Trail encountered. As a fan of historical fiction and the Oregon Trail, I enjoyed the story as well as the healthy dose of historical facts and figures.
      Fast paced. Never boring. Sweet, strong, tender all on each page. Wow! This is FANTASTIC!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      A comfortable read with a bot of mystery the characters are likeable and the narrator was ok
    • 5/5
      The Oregon Trail was a means of expansion west after a time when the country had been torn in two and people were looking to start fresh. Abigail Baldwyn thinks she is a widow with four children and no way to pay on her home as the death benefits she requested from the War Department were not coming. Abigail was shocked to learn that perhaps her children weren’t fatherless, and she may not be a widow after all! But, with few options before her, she sets out to meet up with her husband, even though he doesn’t want her to bring the children.Abigail’s father wants nothing to do with her since she married a man who fought with the Union and he lost a son who fought in the Confederacy. Her two brothers don’t feel the same, but there is little they can do to help her out. Abigail gives Mimi her freedom papers as her maid is remaining in the area to help care for her sick sister.The novel is rich in detail, grit and intrigue. The letters Abigail is getting from her husband aren’t making much sense and she is falling in love with another man. Abigail is a tough woman who hates to lean on others and prefers to do things for herself and her children. Her memory of various passages of Scripture sustain her. She loves to garden to see the beauty of the flowers. The adjustments she must make on the long journey are many and at times beyond her ability to look at squarely.However, the hint of a mystery involving Abigail’s future is what leads to a very climatic and surprise ending. I couldn’t put the book down! At the beginning, the author shares her notes on the history of the times, and what was fiction, along with what she knows was fact during this era. I hope, if you haven’t had an opportunity to read the novel, you will grab a copy and enjoy the many adventures and dangers Abigail and the wagon train handle until they reach their final home in Oregon.
    • 5/5
      The Oregon Trail was a means of expansion west after a time when the country had been torn in two and people were looking to start fresh. Abigail Baldwyn thinks she is a widow with four children and no way to pay on her home as the death benefits she requested from the War Department were not coming. Abigail was shocked to learn that perhaps her children weren’t fatherless, and she may not be a widow after all! But, with few options before her, she sets out to meet up with her husband, even though he doesn’t want her to bring the children.Abigail’s father wants nothing to do with her since she married a man who fought with the Union and he lost a son who fought in the Confederacy. Her two brothers don’t feel the same, but there is little they can do to help her out. Abigail gives Mimi her freedom papers as her maid is remaining in the area to help care for her sick sister.The novel is rich in detail, grit and intrigue. The letters Abigail is getting from her husband aren’t making much sense and she is falling in love with another man. Abigail is a tough woman who hates to lean on others and prefers to do things for herself and her children. Her memory of various passages of Scripture sustain her. She loves to garden to see the beauty of the flowers. The adjustments she must make on the long journey are many and at times beyond her ability to look at squarely.However, the hint of a mystery involving Abigail’s future is what leads to a very climatic and surprise ending. I couldn’t put the book down! At the beginning, the author shares her notes on the history of the times, and what was fiction, along with what she knows was fact during this era. I hope, if you haven’t had an opportunity to read the novel, you will grab a copy and enjoy the many adventures and dangers Abigail and the wagon train handle until they reach their final home in Oregon.
    • 4/5
      I loved reading about a wagon train going west. I believe, historically, it was very accurate in the details of what a trip like this was like. The characters were likable, and the story kept moving at a good pace. A twist near the end of the book was a nice touch. All in all, I enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      A book that reads like I’m watching a movie, and like a movie when you reach the end you often want to go on with their lives.The book opens with meeting Abigail Baldwyn, she is out of money and about to lose her home, she has been a widow after her husband was killed in the Civil War, but now the bank won’t help and there is doubt her husband is dead? How could that be, and then she finds out where he is, contacts him out West and decides she has no choice but to take her four children and find him.Thus the Baldwyn family begins the journey West in a wagon train leaving Independence MO, with the hopes of being reunited with their husband and father. We are about to meet people who change the course of their lives, and end up with new family.One of the members Hoke Mathew’s becomes a leader of their part of the wagon train, and we learn what kind of a man he is. You are about to endure quite an adventure, to include people who are not as they appear, Indian attacks, illness, and forging tight bonds.I really enjoyed this read, and as I said I didn’t want it to end!I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Waterfall Press, and was not required to give a positive review.