When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt – a book review

By the cover alone, you should already know why I chose this book. Sew! A needle pulling thread….. Starring a wonderfully strong female character, Irma, set amidst the historical fiction back drop of late 19th century immigrant America. A true coming of age story illustrating that most of what you need is inside: values, grit, ingenuity, resourcefulness and faith. I enjoyed Upton Sinclair’s Jungle, of which there are flavors, and Irma’s talents with embroidery and acquisition of new skills in dress making and medicine are inspiring. Schoenewaldt paves a challenging road for Irma to travel, but any other way would not be a true representation of the immigrant experience. I admire her including topics such as rape, abortion, social castes and inter-ethnicity relationships. I look forward to more novels by Schoenewaldt and recommend this for book clubs everywhere.

Fa! A long long way to run…..