All That Makes Life Bright

Despite her sister's concerns, Harriet Beecher doesn't question that her married life with Calvin Stowe will be full of happiness, family, independence and literary opportunities. Just two months into their marriage, though, Harriet finds herself overwhelmed with household responsibilities she detests, pregnant, and having to bid her new husband farewell as he embarks on a long European trip. Between Calvin's high domestic expectations of Harriet and his tendency to compare her to his first, beloved wife, Harriet begins to wonder is she is capable of being the wife Calvin needs, as well as the woman she needs herself to be. After months apart, the addition of children to their family, and constant financial struggles, will Harriet and Calvin remember how to cherish one another despite their extreme temperamental differences?

Josi S. Kilpack tells yet another gut-wrenchingly beautiful story based on the life of acclaimed author Harriet Beecher Stowe in All That Makes Life Bright. Words cannot express how much I adored this book. Kilpack does a flawless job alternately portraying both Calvin and Harriet in realistic and sympathetic ways. Neither one is always in the right, and thus the novel perfectly exemplifies the daily struggles of the early years of marriage. Are Calvin's expectations reasonable, or overbearing? Both. Is Harriet a wife and mother, or an author? Both. Every stay-at-home mother will shed a tear reading of Harriet's struggles to find an identity outside that of a cook/housekeeper/nanny... as well as the accompanying guilt associated with those feelings. It's as if Kilpack had read my own diary. Perfection. Absolute perfection.

I'll have to admit even though I had heard of Harriet Beecher Stowe I didn't know much about her. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, Harriet Beecher was the seventh child of the Reverend Lyman Beecher, a Congregational minister and moral reformer, and Roxanna Foote Beecher.She was an American abolitionist and author.In 1836, she married Calvin Ellis Stowe, professor of biblical literature at Lane. This fictional tale was fascinating to read as some of it is based on fact. The story focuses on her and Calvin's early married life. They had 3 children in 2 years and ending up having a total of seven. In this story,Hattie,as she is called since she also has a daughter named Harriet is frustrated and insecure. She would rather write than do her duties of caring for the house . When the babies come along she is even more overwhelmed with child rearing duties and doesn't know how to manage her time properly. Calvin brings his mother in to teach her how to manage the house and children which while giving her help it also makes her feel as a failure. At the point of exhaustion she collapses and is sent way to recuperate. Missing her children and husband dreadfully she does recover and her husband is more understanding of her needs once she returns home. Harriet Beecher's most famous work is Uncle Tom's Cabin,she was one of the best-selling authors of the 19th century. I love historical fiction books like this that are steeped in facts as I am always willing to learn more!
Pub Date 05 Sep 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

All That Makes Life Bright: The Life and Love of Harriet Beecher Stowe, by Josi S. Kilpack, Shadow Mountain, Sept. 5, 2017, Softcover, $15.99 (young adult)

To say Josi S. Kilpack is a prolific writer is an understatement — she’s published three books this year so far. Prolific doesn’t always equal perfection, but in the case of Josi’s latest novel, All That Make Life Bright, she comes close.

All That Makes Life Bright is a fictionalized look at Harriet Beecher and Calvin Stowe’s first 18 months together as a married couple. The novel opens the day of their wedding ceremony, Jan. 6, 1836, and while Hattie is excited, her sister Catharine is not. Catharine is worried Hattie will her identity as an individual. But Calvin fell in love with Hattie because of her mind. He loves that she is intellectual. He loves that she’s a writer.

At first, things are perfect and the two work to adjust to married life. Two months after their wedding, though, Hattie learns she’s pregnant and Calvin is called away on a European business trip. He must go, but won’t be back in time for the birth of their child. Alone and feeling overwhelmed, Hattie returns to her father’s home while Calvin is away.

Much to Harriet and Calvin’s surprise, Hattie gives birth to twin girls, Eliza and Harriet. Their growing family returns home, and Hattie realizes quickly how hard it is to run a household and care for two babies. Hattie’s writing takes a backseat to the mundane chores of a housewife.

She begins to lose herself, and when she tries to take back control, she begins to question her place in her husband’s heart. Calvin and Hattie’s temperaments clash more and more. Things come to a head when Hattie, pregnant with their third child, collapses. The twins aren’t even a year old, and Hattie can no longer cope. Only when Calvin realizes the scope of his wife’s sacrifices is he able to meet her in the middle.

In her introduction to All That Makes Life Bright, Josi S. Kilpack explains that during her research, she found varying accounts of her characters real-life personalities. In the end, the author decided to base her version of their personalities based on their relationship, which was one of support and love. She also condenses 10 years of frustrations into an 18-month time period.

All That Makes Life Bright is part of Shadow Mountain’s Historical Proper Romance line. And while most of the time, these books are perfect for the YA crowd, this time around, Josi’s writing will resonate with a slightly older demographic.

Though All That Makes Life Bright is billed as a love story, and, based on the success of the Stowe’s marriage, I guess it was, it didn’t feel so much like a romance to me. Honestly, on multiple occasions, I found myself wanting to punch Calvin in the face. I get that different conventions were practiced during different time periods, but his complete obliviousness drove me batty.

I think my reaction to Calvin was so strong because Hattie’s experiences rung so true to me. I worked professionally for more than 10 years before giving birth to my daughter. I understood there would be changes, but I didn’t understand the enormity of them beforehand.

I am lucky to have a supportive husband who sees the value of me having passions beyond the household. But even with that support, there was an overwhelming sense of having lost myself. I became my daughter’s mother and my husband’s wife. Jessica sort of disappeared. That’s a hard pill to swallow no matter what the circumstances.

And that’s where Josi’s novel excels.

I did not expect myself to become so emotionally involved in All That Makes Life Bright. As I read, it was as if Josi had somehow accessed some of my deepest feelings. The mom guilt. Feelings of failure over the littlest things. Trying to balance it all. This is where All That Makes Life Bright rings true.

I’ve read a number of Josi’s novels, but All That Makes Life Bright is by far the best. There’s an authenticity to her writing here that will resonate with readers long after they finish reading.

I'm one of those readers out there that knew very little about Harriet Beecher Stowe.  I knew she was an early American author, but that was it.  So I began this book with no expectations, other than I expect good things from author Josi S. Kilpack.
This book is one of Shadow Mountain's A Proper Romance, and I was delighted to be allowed to receive an ARC.
One of the things I enjoyed about this fictional account of Harriet's early married life as that she was very real. All those feelings of inadequacy, of being overwhelmed with domestic duties, of being a wife, of motherhood--all those are real.  As well as the very real need to write, and to create.

When Harriet marries widower Calvin Stowe, she embarks on a new chapter in her life. Both of them have to find the intricate balance on this path of life.   And Harriet could not have made the difference she did had her role been different, and this book does a wonderful job on showing the wisdom God has in who he calls to the task.

As a side note, at the end of the book, Ms. Kilpack shares info on what parts were real, and which were fictionalized.

This novel recounts the early years of Harriet Beecher Stowe's marriage to Calvin Stowe and their struggle to maintain a harmonious marriage relationship. They wrestle with common marital problems: finances, selfishness, unrealistic expectations, in-laws, children, and work- life balance. Will Harriet be able to maintain her writing pursuits when there is so much work to be done? Will Calvin have his needs met? Will they ever be able to understand each other?
When I began reading this novel, I didn't realize how potent it was going to be. Figuratively speaking, it grabbed on to me and wouldn't let go, then it socked me in the gut and left me speechless. One moment I was very angry, and the next I was sad as I read through this book. I sympathized so much with Harriet and Calvin (mostly Harriet), that I became emotionally invested in their struggles. Josi Kilpack has such a way with words in all of her novels, but she outdid herself this time. The character's emotions are so raw and real that I was instantly transported to their world. This book addresses relationship issues so well that it should be required reading for marriage counseling sessions. It brought up deep questions people still struggle with today: How should people really be treated (especially women and African Americans)? When do expectations become unrealistic and selfish? What are each spouse's roles in the marriage union? Should a wife and mother be allowed to pursue her own interests? I found myself thinking about those and other questions even when I wasn't reading the book.
I love that Kilpack shows both Calvin and Harriet compromising and becoming more attentive to each other's needs. Marriage is about loving your spouse and caring for his or her needs more than for yourself. There must be a balance in all things, which unfortunately is difficult to obtain in relationships.
I loved this novel and won't forget its life-changing lessons. Please read this book! You won't regret it!
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and Shadow Mountain in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am loving these proper romance books that Josi S. Kilpack is writing. It has been so fun reading about the different people and their love stories. I followed Josi S. Kilpack's culinary mystery series and am totally in awe that she can write romance just as well as mystery. Not many writers can do that.

I have a greater appreciation of Harriet Beecher Stowe now. What an amazing woman.

I enjoyed the romantic aspect of this book and thought it was realistic in portraying the struggle to make a marriage work. While a lot of romances focus on the relationship before marriage, it was interesting to see how to develop and nurture love after the wedding. While there was a more serious, darker tone, to this book than a lot of romances (due to the worry and heavy feelings of Hattie and Calvin as they struggle to make their marriage work), I found that to be refreshing and realistic--and ultimately, hopeful, because relationships aren't all sunshine and roses, and they do take work and effort and sometime they're just hard. I think Kilpack did a great job conveying the struggles and emotions, particularly Hattie's struggles with feeling like she's losing herself as she tries to care for her family. Very well done.

Josi Kilpack has written a fictionalized version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's life as a newly married woman in her new book, All That Makes Life Bright. Though the book begins in the early 1800s, some of the issues Harriet faces regarding her writing, her call to the social issues of her day, and juggling that with being a wife and mother are so poignant and pertinent to modern-day women.

The story opens with Harriet preparing for her wedding to Calvin Stowe. He's been widowed and Harriet felt like she wouldn't have the opportunity to marry, but when they connect, she feels strongly that she should marry him. Her sister, Catharine, voices her concern that Harriet will lose herself and all the good she can do with her God-given talents, if she marries and becomes a mother. Harriet assures her that Calvin supports her writing and she will be able to continue developing herself and rearing a family.

From there on, that conversation rings in the reader's head as Harriet struggles in her marriage, and she tries to to put that assertion to the test. Calvin still misses his first wife, he's away when Harriet first discovers she's pregnant, and their expectations of the other don't seem to align in very many ways. And that's just the beginning! Everything is compounded when her views on slavery and social issues start to become more pointed. Because the author did such a wonderful job of making Harriet so relatable, readers will care about her and her marriage and wonder how she will ever make this work. The setting and time period is very well done and though I had read a biography of Harriet years ago, this book really makes her come alive and what led her to write, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Compared to the other books in the Proper Romance line, this isn't a romance of first love, or even second chance love in a familiar sense, this is more of finding a way to keep the romance alive in marriage while facing unexpected and hard realities in life. It was real and sometimes raw and absolutely riveting.

It's sometimes hard to imagine how life would have been if I had lived in the early 1800's when the country was changing so quickly and women were so repressed.  But then Josi Kilpack comes along and makes me feel like Harriet's life could have been my life or the life of any of us because of the common desires, thoughts and feelings that inherently makes us women.  

I did not know much about Harriet Beecher Stowe before reading this book other than her famous writing of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  I love how personable Harriet and Calvin became to me and how much of myself I could see in them.  Kilpack does an excellent job of bringing this bit of history to life and I loved her notes in the back for each chapter.  It points to research well done which can be felt in each page of this book.

There is nothing heart pounding or edge of your seat in this book.  It's simply a story about two people trying to work through the messy bits of life and relationships to find happiness and peace.  I felt the connection to the characters and the story.  I feel like I now have a better understanding of Harriet Beecher Stowe and I'm the better for it.

Content:  Some references to intimate relations between a husband and wife with no details.

- I received a copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Opening line:
Harriet Beecher looked around her bedchamber--which had been transformed into the bride's room for her wedding day--and found it ironic that all three of her bridal attendants had never been married."

I really enjoyed the story of Harriet, or Hattie! But I didn't love her story until toward the end when both main characters learned to serve each other and forgive. They were flawed humans who had to learn the give and take of a relationship.
I went through so many different emotions while reading this book but mostly frustration because I wanted Hattie and her husband, Calvin, to talk out their differences and learn to help each other. I wanted to shake both of them for being so stubborn, which at the same time brought humor to the situations, even if there wasn't meant to be humorous.
Some parts of the story were a little uncomfortable because the sentiments were close to how I felt when I was first engaged. Would I lose myself to being a wife and mother? Would I be able to remain true to myself when I had others to take care of? How do I justify doing what I want with keeping house and being a good mom. I was anxious to keep reading and see how the conflicts were resolved.
At the end of the book Ms. Kilpack adds fact vs. fiction for each chapter. Very enlightening!

Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I love the author's attention to detail, her depth of research, and the notes at the end describing the true events and changes she made to turn Harriet Beecher Stowe's story into a novel. I felt deeply for Harriet's struggle in trying to learn to be a wife and a mother without losing herself and her passion for creativity.