Loved this book. It makes me want to go to Seguin and take the tour. It's by Janice Windle Woods, decendant of the 3 main characters she writes about. It starts with Euphemia Texas Ashby as a young girl. About 23 pages in I was cryng in the lunchroom at work. Euphema's sister, Sarah, over the course of her life buried 8 kds. Wow. Euphemia, Phemie, ends up marrying the youngest of the Rowdy King Boys, famous in Texas history.
The next part follows Georgia Lawshe Woods. Legend has it that her grandmother was Ndian, back in the day when Indians were drove off their land. Her family goes to Missouri (don't have the book in front of my so I'm working off my memory). There, she meets Dr. Peter Woods and falls in love. Their dream is to move to Texas. On the way, cue anther scene that had me crying. Colonel-doctor Peter fights in the civil war and then stays in Austin after the war is lost to work on treaties. Georgia and her family are treated horribly by the Yankee troops who come totown and there is a murder.
Third woman s BettievMoss King, Euphemia's daugher-in-law. She lives through the end of the1800s, WWI and WWII. Her story broke my heart because se watched so many around her die. I wonder how loney she was.
I highly recommend this book. Te front age looks like a romance novel, so I was hesitant, but it was great. As the author herself says, it's really a Western. Highest praise I can give is that I was googling all the characters while reading and I will be going to Seguin and San Antonio to walk in their steps as much as I can.
PS - typing on the iPad so forgive any typos :)
*Real Women - I googled it because it sounded interesting. I was just commenting elsewhere that I love a good nonfiction book, but I rarely read them because I never want to take a chance on a book in case it turns out crappy, or in the case of nonfiction, really dry and boring. Thanks for the recommendation!
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