Women of the West

Series · 13

books · 1990-2010

By Janette Oke

Books in series

The Calling of Emily Evans

1990

She feels God nudging her toward ministry, but what options are there for a young single woman? Emily Evans has a hard time getting herself to class on time, much less figuring out God's will for her life. Then, to her surprise, she feels that God is calling her into full-time Christian service. She expects the Lord will also provide her with a companion to share her life and ministry, but Emily does not want to marry any of the available young men. She squares her shoulders and decides she will accept the task of opening a new church in a pioneer community—alone. When Emily arrives at her new assignment, she is disappointed to find the church building in disrepair. After many days of hard work fixing it up, she announces her first service and is once again disappointed, this time in the size of her congregation. Is her faith strong enough to stand against the local doubters and myriad challenges that will test her calling?

Julia's Last Hope

1990

The only thing she has left is her faith in God... Is it enough? With the closing of the Calder Springs' timber mill, most of the town's residents are left unemployed. Several families, realizing the lack of a future in the small mountain town, soon decide to relocate. But not the Harrigan family. Although John has lost his job at the mill, he and his wife, Julia, make the decision to stay in their beautiful home with their twin daughters. Eastern-educated Julia searches for a way to bring business and people back to Calder Springs—a task she feels God leading her to accomplish. Will her faith and determination carry her through the challenges and setbacks she'll face?

Roses for Mama

1990

A captivating story of a young girl who must assume responsibility for raising her younger siblings. As the challenges intensify, she is determined to raise them as her mother would have wanted.

A Woman Named Damaris

1991

She was almost fifteen on the night she dared for the first time to think of what life might be like away from home. Pa again had come home drunk and mean; the trauma of the subsequent scene had been repeated as long as Damaris could remember. The idea that she no longer needs to tolerate this, that maybe she's old enough to manage on her own, is planted in her mind and begins to grow. She must plan her escape carefully, but she must get away from him. When the opportunity comes, Damaris carries with her the strength of her mother's love. Two treasures hidden for years from her father- her grandmother's lacy golden brooch and her grandfather's lovely watch- are Damaris' only legacy from her past. That and her name. Her mother said it came from the Bible and had a special meaning that she can't remember anymore. What difference might it make? But Damaris can't escape the "aloneness" that haunts her life or the bitterness she feels when she sees others suffering, particularly children. Ultimately, she must come to terms with her past, learn to live in her present circumstances, and trust her future to another Father. She Discovered Much More Than the Meaning of Her Name in That Book

They Called Her Mrs. Doc

1992

As the daughter of a successful Montreal physician, Cassandra Dell Winston is used to city life, so when she falls in love with a conscientious young doctor who intends to practice in his hometown on the frontier, she can only hope that life out west will prove to be temporary

The Measure of a Heart

1992

Anna Trent felt fortunate to finish the eighth grade with first-class honors. Already past her sixteenth birthday, most of the girls her age had been forced long ago to drop out to help at home. She loved school loved to learn, loved the excitement of new discoveries, loved the quickening of her pulse as she shared some great adventure in the pages of a book. And now that is over. The oldest child in a farming family with six young brothers, Anna is shy, sensitive and a bit self-conscious. But when Austin Barker comes to their church to fill the pastorate for the summer months, the young seminarian is captured by Anna's admirable qualities, especially her intense desire to learn. Through his books and correspondence, Anna's education continues to expand, and the sweet country girl grows into a lovely woman. When they meet again, will she be able to believe that Austin's words are sincere? Despite the compassion and grace she so effectively lives, and despite her selfless commitment to God and His Word, what can she do when time does not erase the inadequacy she feels or her struggles with the standard that measures her heart? Will she ever be able to see herself as others do? If only the feelings of guilt and inadequacy would go away-

A Bride for Donnigan

1993

A new look for this Janette Oke novel. Responding to an advertisement, Kathleen O'Malley crosses the ocean to America to become a new bride.Responding to an Advertisement, She Crossed an Ocean to Meet a Total Stranger and Became a Mail-Order Bride...Kathleen O'Malley stood on the deck of the Barreth Lily and watched the land she'd called home for more than a dozen years slip from her view. She had thought she would be glad to see the last of it, but she was not. Emotions in turmoil, her whole being yearned to slip from the ship and return to what she knew. Even though Kathleen had not been happy with her situation, it was all she had ever known. As the shoreline faded into the morning mist, her only certainty was that she was bound for America to marry a man whose name she did not even know and whose face she had never seen.On the other side of the Atlantic, Donnigan Harrison anxiously awaits Kathleen's arrival on a prairie farm far from her port of arrival in Boston. He has known the wonder of a dream fulfilled—a snug frame cabin, the sturdy log barn and outbuildings, a fine herd of livestock, and crops in the field that made his eyes sparkle. Yet Donnigan felt a loneliness on the western frontier that pierced his very soul. With so limited opportunities for finding a wife, the notion of ordering a wife that once seemed unthinkable had come to make some sense. Now that the time has come, Donnigan feels like a small boy waiting for Christmas.But Donnigan's anticipation is overshadowed with terrifying uncertainties—What have I done?

Heart of the Wilderness

1993

Living in the wilderness with her grandfather, a trapper, Kendra returns to school and soon must decide between love with the older brother of a classmate and staying with her grandfather. Original.

Too Long a Stranger

1994

The sudden death of her husband had left Sarah Perry and her baby Rebecca alone in their small frontier town. But Sarah resolves for Rebecca's sake to put her life back together and go on. And to everyone's surprise, Sarah finds a way. But the choices forced upon her by life on the frontier are very hard. The most difficult decision comes when Sarah determines that the best thing for her little daughter's future is to send her away to boarding school.

#10

The Bluebird and the Sparrow

1995

Sometimes she wished she was an only child . . . "She's lovely! Look at those curls. Those blue eyes. She's just beautiful!" Berta was used to hearing comments like that. But they were not about her... Whenever ladies came to the house or met her mother on the street, they exclaimed over Berta's little sister, Glenna. Somewhere along the way, Berta decided that whatever Glenna was, she would not be. Whatever Glenna did, she would not do. Whatever Glenna liked, she would not like. She would be the opposite. Sure enough, Glenna is sparkling, vivacious, outgoing, and adored, while Berta is serious, dependable, and prim. Their relationship grows more and more distant until, finally, Berta must look into her heart and discover what truly has caused the rift between them.

#11

A Gown of Spanish Lace

1995

Ariana loves her life as a schoolteacher in a little frontier town. But one evening after classes are done and she prepares to hurry home, her life changes in an instant when a band of rough outlaws abduct her and take her far away from all she has ever known. Trapped in a small shack, Ariana prays and waits, her emotions swinging between terror and boredom as days stretch into weeks. Still, the outlaws refuse to tell her why they've taken her or what they plan to do. Then the boss' son appears in the doorway of her cabin. He seems different from the others, but can she trust him? Will she ever again see her mother and father, the couple who lovingly adopted her and raised her as their own? Will she ever wear the beautiful wedding dress so carefully saved for her—her one remaining link to her birth parents?

#12

Drums of Change

1995

An Indian girl is forced to go to a reservation with her people where she is confused by the white people's culture and their God.

#1-12

The Women of the West Series Complete 12 Volume Set

2010

Strong women committed to traditional values-women determined to make a difference-is the thematic thread running through the Women of the West series. Although the stories take place in days gone by, these issues are as current as today's a single woman who chooses to follow her dream, a young wife and mother whose husband faces unemployment, an adolescent who must grow up too fast. Women inspired by love, women who find a courage within, these stories are windows illumining the empowering presence of God and the inner strength every woman can find within herself. Titles The Calling of Emily Evans; Julia's Last Hope; Roses for Mama; A Woman Named Damaris; They Called Her Mrs. Doc; The Measure of a Heart; A Bride for Donnigan; Heart of the Wilderness; Too Long a Stranger; The Bluebird and the Sparrow; A Gown of Spanish Lace; Drums of Change

Author

Janette Oke

Author · 84 books

Janette Oke writes with a profound simplicity of what she knows best—real life, honest love, and lasting values. With over 23 million in sales, her historical novels portray the lives of early North American settlers from many walks of life and geographical settings. She also writes engaging children's stories and inspiring gift books that warm the heart. Janette was born during the depression years to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife, and she remembers her childhood as full of love and laughter and family love. After graduating from Mountain View Bible College in Canada where she met her husband, Edward, they pastored churches in Canada and the U.S., and they raised their family of four children, including twin boys, in both countries. Edward eventually became president of Mountain View Bible College and recently established a coalition of colleges that became Rocky Mountain Bible College. During her earliest years, Janette sensed the desire to write. Though she yearned to be a published novelist, she devoted herself to being a wife and mother because, she says, "there is no higher honor—that is my number-one priority." She began serious writing when her children were entering their teens. Her first novel, a prairie love story titled Love Comes Softly, was published by Bethany House in 1979. This book was followed by more than 75 others. She reaches both religious and general markets, telling stories that transcend time and place. Her readers of all ages and walks of life can identify with the everyday events and emotions of her characters. Janette believes everyone goes through tough times—the key is to be prepared with a strong faith as the foundation from which decisions are made and difficult experiences are faced. That perspective is subtly woven throughout her novels. After Love Comes Softly was published, Oke found her readers asking for more. That book led to a series of eight others in her Love Comes Softly series. She has written multiple fiction series, including The Canadian West, Seasons of the Heart and Women of the West. Her most recent releases include a beautiful children's picture book, I Wonder...Did Jesus Have a Pet Lamb and The Song of Acadia series, co-written with T. Davis Bunn. Janette Oke's warm writing style has won the hearts of millions of readers. She has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medallion Award, The Christy Award of Excellence, the 1992 President's Award for her significant contribution to the category of Christian fiction from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and in 1999 the Life Impact Award from the Christian Booksellers Association International. Beloved worldwide, her books have been translated into fourteen languages. In recent years, Janette and her siblings lovingly restored their parents' prairie farm home, and it now serves as a gift shop and museum of prairie life. Please see below for a special invitation to the Oke Writing Museum and The Steeves' Historical House. She and her husband live nearby in Alberta, Canada, where they are active in their local church. Visits from their families, including their grandchildren, are their delight. —[http://www.janetteoke.com/ME2/Sites/d...]