Uncertain Pilgrims

by: Lenore Carroll

Published by: University of New Mexico Press

Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart

History and life seem to merge, separate and merge again in Lenore Carroll's sixth novel, Uncertain Pilgrims.

Carla Bracato is trying to outrun grief. The deaths of her infant daughter and father, as well as complete abandonment by the baby's father, has left Carla feeling like she's wearing a lead jacket. She is merely going through the motions of life. And not successfully either as she loses her job at the best company to work for in Kansas City.

She hits the Santa Fe Trail, hoping that if the open road doesn't dissolve her grief, the "history time" will. On the way, she meets two travelers, a father and son. The father, Dale, loves to talk with women and before Carla knows it, she is meeting the duo at each historic site along the Trail. She tells son Tom about the people, especially the army wives, who have all but disappeared from the history books.

Uncertain Pilgrims has many levels. First, there's Carla's uncertainty that she will ever be able to rid herself of her lead jacket. Then there's Tom, who isn't sure why he's on this trip, and finally, there's the army wives, who aren't certain about what they've gotten into, but love their husbands and are willing to follow them to the ends of the earth.

The narrative weaves between present time and "history time," where Carla disappears in telling some of wives' tales to Tom. Carroll made a wise choice in using Lizzie Custer, wife of General George Armstrong, as the first tale to tell. Mrs. Custer is a name known to most and helps provide a footing in the uncertainty Carla is feeling.

After Mrs. Custer, Carroll has chosen to regale readers with stories that history has all but forgotten; she identified the women by name only with no mention of their possibly famous husbands. That is part of the beauty of Uncertain Pilgrims. The women of the 19th century parallel 21st century lives in that the only thing they know for sure is that the path ahead is probably bumpy and definitely uncertain.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a great read.