ALL THAT MAKES LIFE BRIGHT by Josi S Kilpack

ALL THAT MAKES LIFE BRIGHT by Josi S. Kilpack. In a way, this book was hard to get through. I have felt all of the overwhelming feelings and sense of losing ones self that Harriet talks about. It was hard to read about someone else going through almost exactly what I feel. However, it was comforting to see that things were worked out and to see how they worked out for her and Calvin. It was interesting to learn what added to and helped Harriet become the great writer she was known for. I would recommend this book to anyone.

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When Harriet Beecher marries Calvin Stowe on January 6, 1836, she is sure her future will be filled romance, eventually a family, and continued opportunities to develop as a writer. Her husband Calvin is completely supportive and said she must be a literary woman. Harriet's sister, Catharine, worries she will lose her identity in marriage, but she is determined to preserve her independent spirit. Deeply religious, she strongly believes God has called her to fulfill the roles of wife and writer and will help her accomplish everything she was born to do.

Two months after her wedding Harriet discovers she is pregnant just as Calvin prepares to leave for a European business trip. Alone, Harriet is overwhelmed—being a wife has been harder than she thought and being an expectant mother feels like living another woman's life. Knowing that part of Calvin still cherishes the memory of his first wife, Harriet begins to question her place in her husband's heart and yearns for his return; his letters are no substitute for having him home. When Calvin returns, however, nothing seems to have turned out as planned.

Struggling to balance the demands of motherhood with her passion for writing and her desire to be a part of the social change in Ohio, Harriet works to build a life with her beloved Calvin despite differing temperaments and expectations.

Can their love endure, especially after "I do"? Can she recapture the first blush of new love and find the true beauty in her marriage?