Grissom has written a work so powerful it will leave you breathless. Goes First was a young Crow woman on the cusp of marriage. When circumstances changed her father arranged for her to marry Abe Farrell, a white fur trader. As she had the right to choose who she married, Goes First decided to try out the marriage and be the lynchpin for her husband's trade amongst the Native American tribes. In her new life as Mary she experienced extreme culture clash between everything that was familiar in her old life to everything that surrounded life living as a Native American woman married to a white man. Mary adapted and made friends. She and Abe grew to care for each other. Grissom expertly wrote of how difficult each and every step of Mary's journey with Abe was. Not one word was wasted as she described the travels through the Northern Plains into Canada, the rival trading posts, the rogue vigilantes who took the law into their own hands, and the desperation of Abe to prove the effectiveness of the justice system. Mary was able to disperse her own justice though.
Crow Mary is a book that will stand the test of time. It gives readers a strong female character who fought for her life and that of others. It tugs at the heartstrings with stories of families being ripped apart, tribes dwindling to nothing through the ferocity of forced reservation living, and children losing touch with their native heritage. Each character brought another level of wonder to this profound story.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

Since I read and loved The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, I was eager to read Crow Mary. When I saw the foreword was written by the real Crow Mary's great-granddaughter, I knew this would be a great read, and I was not disappointed.

Teenager Goes First (Mary's Crow name) marries Abe Farwell, a white fur trader, in 1872 and leaves her family to travel with him to Canada to open a trading post. This is the first of their many moves, and through the next decades, Mary is faced with many difficulties including loneliness and being forced to conform to a culture that was not her own. Mary handles these hardships with strength, grace, bravery and wisdom. I loved learning about the history of trading posts in this area, as this was a new topic for me. I had never heard of the Cypress Hills Massacre of 1873, and although difficult to read about, it is an important part of history to acknowledge.

Kathleen Grissom's writing was outstanding. Her descriptions of the land, people and their relationships made me understand what the time must have been like for Mary. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I will recommend this to readers who like historical fiction, especially about indigenous history.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this well researched historical fiction novel based on a true story of a Crow woman, Goes First. She married a white trader whom her parents selected due to the fact that he could provide well for her. This book tells us of the many struggles that the Native Americans had to live with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this eARC. I loved this book so much that I will buy myself a copy to read again.

As the wife of a Native American Creek Indian, this story made me both proud and sad. Crow Mary is a story told across many years and tells the triumphs of Crow Mary as well as her struggles. As a Crow, Crow Mary learned about the yellow eyes or white men and how their ways were definitely different than those of her people. However, finding love with a white fur trader named Abe she blends her worlds.
As a country the Native Americans have not been treated fairly and this story definitely doesn’t shy away from some of these instances.
Ultimately, this book is about strength and perseverance as Crow Mary holds her family dear and maintains her ties to her Native ways.

I absolutely loved this novel based on the true story of Goes First, a Crow Native woman who marries a white fur trader. This story follows their marriage and the struggles she faces as a Native woman thrust into a new way of life. In 1873 she witnesses the Cypress Hills Massacre and saves 4 captured Nakota women, and the aftermath of this massacre follow her and her husband throughout their lives. This is historical fiction at its best and I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I loved this book! Great historical fiction, adventure, spirituality, an appreciation of nature and all living things come together to make this book wonderful. Not to mention characters that are so real, both good and bad.

Readers meet Goes First, a young Crow Indian girl when she is living with her tribe. She grows up with her family and eventually falls in love with a young warrior that she is soon to marry. Unfortunately that is not in the cards for her and after a time, her father introduces her to a white man named Farwell. He is a trader and her family believes he will provide well for Goes First.

Upon marriage, she is given the name Mary, but called Crow Mary to distinguish her from the other Marys in the village. Crow Mary faces her new marriage with a brave face and soon she proves herself to be a good wife and helper for her husband.

Farwell faces some demons in his life and has an old friend he feels indebted to that is a bad influence. Crow Mary takes an instant dislike to this man and for several years they harbor a hatred for each other.

The book tells of the struggle our Native Americans endured during America’s early years and details many instances of how unfair they were treated. Crow Mary, in spite of being an Indian and a woman, ends up with opportunities many women like her may not have had. She is a smart and patient woman and I loved reading about her victories in life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am pleased to recommend this to readers with a love of history and historical fiction.

Very well researched, this book is a gem for any historical fiction fan. I learned so much while reading this novel which is based on a true story. I definitely recommend!

This is a novel based on the real life of Crow Mary, a Native American woman who we follow starting in the 1860s. We see her life as she grows up and marries (at 16) a white fur trader, and the life they build together. The author explores the relationship between white Americans/Canadians and Native peoples so well and on so many different levels. From the personal in a marriage, to the court systems in both the U.S. and Canada during this time, to Native American children being forcibly removed from their homes.
Crow Mary was an interesting woman and I am so glad that I got to read about her life through this novel. I of course then went down a google rabbit hole after reading this book.
I absolutely recommend this if you enjoy historical fiction and/or learning new things about the past.

In the foreward, Nedra, the great grand daughter of Crow Mary, shares her endorsement on Grissom writing her families story. Right off the bat I loved knowing this was based on an actual historical even.

I truly enjoy reading about indigenous peoples and whatever land they are on. Being from Utah, I have visited many homes and markings of native peoples who once lived here. The way of life of the peoples that inhabited North America long before the Europeans came are a delight and fascinating to read about. Perhaps this was my favorite aspect of the book.

Crow Mary was married off to a white tradesman with the intent that it would be a good life for her and she would be valuable to her husband in trading with the Native Americans. This book focuses on one particular massacre between peoples that actually happened. While I found the story heart felt and interesting I would have liked more stories of life. We get a little bit of her children and their schooling, but clearly the focus was the Cypress Hill Massacre.

Grissom writes in a way that is so easy to follow along and be swept into the story. I truly felt as if I was a part of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance e-copy of this book.

4/5

Being a fan of Grissoms’ previous works I had to dive into this one too! This book is based on a true story so I found myself looking up further information on the Cypress Hills Massacre. This book takes you on a journey with the Crow Tribe as you witness their way of life. My only complaints are I initially had trouble keeping track of the characters and the story lags at some points.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #CrowMary

Crow native woman Goes First marries Abe Farwell and travels to his trading post in Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan. Seeing a massacre by drunken whiskey traders, Mary (her husband's name for her) finds herself trying to save 5 Nakota women taken by the traders. The clash of cultures in this well written historical novel set in the late 1800s is explored with emotion and depth. Recommended reading.

Thanks to Atria for the free book.
I completely understand why other readers are loving this book. It’s full of rich detail and a moving plot. However, I could not get into the story with these characters. I sometimes find stories based on real life hard to get into sometimes. This deserves all the love and praise it’s getting because I know it’s a me thing, not a book thing with this one

Didn't like this one as much as Kitchen House, but it was still very good! The story was not one I'd heard before and that is what I look for in a historical fiction novel as I feel the whole WW2 genre is overdone.

Based on the true story of Crow Mary, an indigenous woman torn between two words in 19th century North America, this is an unforgettable story you won’t want to miss.

With great sensitivity and a staggering amount of research, Kathleen Grissom beautifully highlights this bold woman from history. Kathleen worked closely with Crow Mary’s descendants for nearly a decade to capture the spirit of this remarkable woman.

The cross-cultural marriage between Crow Mary and her husband was a fascinating dynamic. I also loved learning about the indigenous cultural practices and worldview. This is a story of identity, unwavering bravery and the heartbreaking losses incurred in the name of assimilation and “progress”.

READ THIS IF:
You enjoy meticulously researched books based on true stories
Grissom’s previous book, THE KITCHEN HOUSE, touched your heart
You love stories that highlight bold women from history

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great new book to open many eyes to unfamiliar history to many. Should be widely read to enjoy and learn

Absolutely enjoyed this book! Realistic. Strong history base without beung cheesy. Dialogue flowed well. Would def read again

Crow Mary is definitely a departure from my usual 'easy read" historical fiction that centers around familiar wars or locations. I have not read much fiction about Native Americans/First Nations people, but I do want to remedy that after reading this outstanding book. Kathleen Grissom's The Kitchen House has long been one of my favorite books, so when I saw she was publishing a new book I hopped on board right away to request a review copy.

Crow Mary centers around the story of a Crow woman, Goes First, as she meets and marries a white fur trader, Abe Farwell. Their story has much pain and heartbreak, but also joy and reconciliation. Together they deal with everyday issues of marriage and family, but also of trying to understand (imperfectly at times) each other's cultures. Though she was only 16 at the time of their marriage, Goes First (now called Mary by her husband) is wise beyond her years and really seems to choose her battles in this new life. When should she embrace her Crow identity? When should she acclimate? She makes good friends along the way of other women in similar, albeit different, situations than her and I think those friendships really help her grow.

The turning point of their story comes later in the book than I expected, but the tragic massacre (and Goes First's heroic actions) is difficult to read about and changes the course of the book. The pace picks up and the reader can very clearly see the impact of these events on the lives of Goes First/Mary and Farwell. These impacts persist long into the future. I really appreciated the long view of her life, and marriage, as well as the analysis/information about how Native Americans/First Nations people were treated over the years. The devastation of government policy and white settlers on these people were enormous, and this book makes it so clear.

Despite the hardship we read about in this book, I really enjoyed it. I found it to be well researched, well written, and easy to invest in the lives of these people. I appreciated the foreword and afterward that detail the author's research process and her collaboration with one of the ancestors of Goes First. This book is based on a true story and is so very powerful.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

My thanks to Net Galley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

Goes First, a Native Crow woman, marries a "Yellow Eyes" (white) man, Abe Farwell as he is friendly and trustworthy in her tribe. Farwell is a trader of furs and whiskey thus doing business with the Crow people. Goes First's father approves of her marriage to Farwell and he is very good to her. They make a home with a group of Metis (part Native, part "Yellow Eyes" /white) where Goes First, or Crow Mary as she is now known as, makes a dear friend Jeannie. They live near the trading post in Canada.

When they return to Montana they find a group of whiskey traders who have slaughtered the Nakota and raped the women. Farwell goes for help but Crow Mary goes alone to rescue the women. Eventually this turns into a biased trial. Their lives are never the same, but we follow Crow Mary, Farwell and their children.

Author Kathleen Grissom has carried this story that "needed to be told" since she was writing The Kitchen House. It is beautifully written and compelling reading that I recommend.

{NG Kindle, Libby audio}

Kathleen Grissom has written an incredibly moving fictionalized account of the life of Goes First, who became known as Crow Mary, a Crow Native American that married a white trader in the 1870’s Pacific Northwest. The writing kept me spellbound, and reading long into the early hours of the morning. The bravery of this young woman and her desire to protect others regardless of danger to herself was so inspiring. Her intelligence and love for her family and those she loved was pivotal to her ability to navigate such a drastic life style change once she married Abe. I was heartened to read about their growing love as their family continued to grow. Mary’s presence greatly enhanced her husband’s success in building a new fort. Her struggle to abandon the ways of her life with the Crow and adhere to the ways of the yellow eyes caused her much distress. Her feelings about her husband selling whiskey to Native Americans was very conflicting to her and caused arguments with Abe.
After one such incident, Abe and Mary both witnessed the Cypress Hills Massacre. Mary single-handedly rescued four friends after they had been repeatedly raped. Their determination to see the yellow eyes responsible for the murder of so many Nakoda people punished changed their lives forever.
Mary’s struggles to understand Abe’s choices became more and more difficult. Their visions for their own children’s future lives clashed. Grissom’s writing conveyed all the angst that would be present in such a dilemma and helped to place the reader in the middle with strong feelings on both sides of the divide.
I
Mary will linger in my mind for a very long time thanks to the strength of Grissom’s writing. Many many thanks to Kathleen Grissom for sharing Crow Mary with us, Atria Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just recently published tour de force. In the early 1970’s I remember watching several movies, Soldier Blue, Jeremiah Johnson, and others that left a huge impact on my understanding of the plight of Native Americans. This book and the episodes of 1923 have again opened my eyes to the horrific ways they were treated.

It did NOT take me much to fall in love with the summary of this story and wish to get my hands on it! I am a huge fan of Grissoms The Kitchen House & Glory over Everything. What makes this book DIFFERENT from those two, though they're ALL THREE based in North America's 19th century this one is based on a TRUE ACCOUNT & of a Native American woman which to me ALWAYS makes what I'm reading 10x more interesting! I'm. 1/4 Lenape Indian myself & literature with Native Americans is definitely lacking! This book is interesting from beginning to end, not one chapter lagged for me. I loved mostt reading & watching as friendships grew between Crow Mary & her Traper husband & her new faithful best friend. I was thrilled, scared & emotionally spent at certain points and overwhelmed with happiness at others. This is HOW a book should MAKE you feel! If it doesn't its not a fabulous book! I'm so excited to read Mrs.Grissom's next work! Definitely a 5 ***** book!