Rikka remembered her teacher’s words. Spirit needs muscle. Not only muscle of flesh and bone, she thought, but the muscle of a spirit inured to hardship and suffering. Surely, we have had enough of that to make us strong!” From a close-knit community on the wave-scoured islands of northern Norway to a wind-swept prairie homestead, Rikka traverses love and loss, joy and sorrow, with passion and determination. Rikka’s journey takes her across an ocean, a continent, and a lifetime. She plumbs the depths of her own heart and discovers the beauty of life beyond grit and endurance. This novel is based on the true story of one of Western Canada’s female immigrant pioneers.

Joan Soggie’s lifelong curiosity about her homeland has led her to explore the native prairie, the centuries-long relationship between the land and First Nations, and her own family’s settler history. Her 2014 non-fiction book, Looking for Aikton, garnered praise form academics and general readers. The prairies and all its creatures are her inspiragtion. Her family is her joy. She and her husband Dennis, enjoy travelling and treasure days with their children , grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Joan Soggie lives and writes in rural Saskatchewan.

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Based on a true story of Norwegien immigrants to the Canadian west. A must read.

N Rafter