But it isn't all heartache and sadness, not by a long shot. The triumphs and celebrations are made all the more sweet by the glaring contrasts in one very amazing woman's life. Martha Sawyer was an amazing woman and YELLOW MOUNTAIN is, more than anything, the story of her life. Well, the first half of her life, anyway. The thought struck me at the end of the book, that after all that she'd done, all she'd survived, all she'd touched and changed, she was still probably not quite thirty yet.

Martha was a woman who clung to her convictions even when they were all she had to cling to. She loved unconditionally and without reservation. There was no sacrifice too large for her children's welfare. She never saw it as sacrifice, she just saw what had to be done and did it. Even when the times and living conditions demanded a lot from a person just to survive, Martha paid far more dues than any one person should ever have to pay. But she did survive it and she did it with grace for the sake of her children.

It really spoke to me when Martha's daughter Gracie told her she hoped that when she had to be, she could be half as strong as her mother. Martha's response was that she hoped she'd never have to be.

Martha was a young wife, married only a couple of years to the man of her dreams, and the mother of two beautiful little girls, when her husband left one afternoon to help a neighbor pull some stumps and didn't return. She might have fallen apart with worry except that now she had to provide for the girls and work the farm, as well as keep up with her already full day of chores, all alone. She took in mending from the townsfolk to supplement her income because Elijah had left her with a bank mortgage that had to be paid in cash money.

I don't want to spoil any of this awesome story by giving away anymore of the plot, except to say that eight years later, Elijah Sawyer returned from the dead.

Martha was such an inspiring role model to have in one's ancestry. Knowing that you were descended from such stock must be almost as intimidating as it is inspiring. Perhaps Ms. Neeley will tell us. Her mother is Martha's youngest daughter, Stella May Neeley. Martha is her grandmother. After reading YELLOW MOUNTAIN, I understand why Ms. Neeley would say in the book's forward that this book is a work of her heart. YELLOW MOUNTAIN will touch your heart too.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Karen H.
February 4, 2006