The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

A few years back I had several friends who walked a half-marathon in Des Moines. They trained for months so that they would be in good shape. In this book Helga and Clara (mother and daughter) walk across the country with no training (unless you consider the fact that Helga gave birth to 9 children, lived in a sod house as a teenage bride and mother, and was obsessed with cleanliness in order to keep her family safe.) What a fascinating book! Before I tell you about the book, I want to tell you that this is based on a true story. Helga was born in Norway and moved to Minnesota as a young girl. At 15 she was pregnant and married. Soon she and her husband were living in a sod house with several children. (I was so intrigued by this story that I am reading a non-fiction book about them and that is where I read this information.) Later they moved to Washington State. One of her children died shortly before the walk. The book begins in 1896 with Clara's mother, Helga, informing her oldest child that the two of them were going to walk from Spokane to New York City! Clara is very unhappy. She had been working for a rich family but had plans to attend a university the next fall. Instead she takes off on a journey to win $10,000 in prize money to save their farm from foreclosure. Helga leaves her husband and seven children (the youngest is 2) at home. The first part of the book is about the journey. They took off with $5 each, a few items in a bag and that's it. No extra clothes or anything! The rules set forth required that they could not 'beg' for anything along the way, but if someone offered something they were allowed to take it. To make money they would have to find jobs in cities along the way. The second part deals with the aftermath of the trip - Clara's name change, why she became estranged from her family and her new career. I have attached a picture of Helga and Clara. In it they are sporting the new 'reform dresses' that they wore to promote some of their sponsors. This is one fascinating story!