| Title | : | Loves Long Journey (Love Comes Softly, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0764228501 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780764228506 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 234 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1982 |
| Awards | : | ECPA Christian Book Award Fiction (1983) |
Overcoming incredible hardships on the journey, she grows into a mature wife and mother. Her faith in God and love for her husband give Missie the strength to make a new life and home in an unknown territory.
Loves Long Journey (Love Comes Softly, #3) Reviews
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Another great book by Janette Oke!! ❤ I do think that I enjoyed the second book slightly more though...it was still a good book all in all! Hoping I can find the other 5 books in this series at my local used bookstores or else I might just have to borrow them from the library :P.
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This is Historical Christian Fiction, and this is the 3rd book in the Love Comes Softly series. I really enjoy the characters in this book, and this is a short book that shows some of the hard times that the people traveling on the Journey West. I really enjoyed taking this journey with these characters, but I did feel that this book did not show how bad traveling the traveling west was really. This book was written well, and the characters was developed. (*)
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After the second book (which really just felt like a bridge between the first and this one) I was really excited to actually get back to the story. I loved seeing Missie as an adult and building her life. I look forward to the next book!
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“Love! That’s what makes a home. So welcome, Mama and Pa. Welcome to our love-filled home.”
—
Janette Oke,
Love's Long Journey
Rating: ★★★★★
Cleanness: ★★★★★
Ahh!!! This is such a sweet and beautiful story! I absolutely loved seeing Missie and Willie all grown up and having a family together! There were so many moments while reading where I smiled and some I felt like crying.
A beautiful faith filled and emotional story of love and trusting God! This is my favorite of the Love Comes Softly books! I can’t wait to continue Missie and Willie’s story in the next book!
…
For more bookish content at
https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/ and @fablerosemc -
Reviewed for
THC Reviews
Love's Long Journey was another wonderful story in the Love Comes Softly series that is so reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie books. The author really brought to life the stark reality of the hardships on a wagon train and how sometimes people died along the way. There was also the sheer boredom and monotony of doing the same things and eating the same things day after day. Even once Missie and Willie get settled in a temporary home on the frontier, dangers and boredom still factor in, especially during the winter months. In between the wagon trip and getting settled, Missie and Willie experienced a long, difficult separation as she stayed in the closest town, which was several days ride from their ranch, awaiting the birth of their baby, while Willie went on to get things set up for them. And of course, there was the homesickness of being separated from their families who were so far away with very little means of communication. It all makes me really thankful to live in modern times, and also thankful for those courageous souls throughout history who braved the hardships of the frontier to expand our nation.
Much the same as with her mother, Marty's book, this one is told entirely from Missie's POV. She was a brave young woman who obviously loved Willie a lot to want to help him pursue his dream of cattle ranching. Although the journey itself and living in such an isolated area was often difficult and brought disappointments, Missie rarely complained. She just set her mind to doing what needed to be done and eventually she adjusted quite well. Her attitude was admirable, but that's not to say that I always agreed with her decisions to keep certain things from her husband. I understood that she was trying to avoid adding stress on Willie by not telling him at first about being pregnant or about her severe homesickness, but as someone who shares nearly everything with my husband, I felt like she should have trusted that he could handle it. Once she finally fesses up, Missie comes to that same conclusion herself, but later in the story she still keeps a couple of things from him, including an incident where one of the ranch hands menaces her. I really felt like she should have told Willie about that and allowed him to share her burdens a little more. Even though I sometimes didn't agree with Missie, overall, she was still a very relatable heroine with all of her emotional ups and downs. Missie is a keen observer of people and seems to have an intuitive sense about how they might be feeling or what they might need, and was always ready to lend a hand, which is something that I can really identify with.
I do kind of miss having the male perspective in these books, but the reader can get a pretty good feel for Willie through Missie's eyes. He is a kindhearted man toward others, a good husband to Missie, and a loving father to Nathan. He is a hard worker, a great provider for Missie and his child, and very protective of them both, always doing what was in their best interests even if it was difficult. Willie is a bit of a dreamer with his aspirations of starting a cattle ranch, but still pretty practical, and doesn't really take chances. I think what I liked most about him is the way he comforts Missie in times of sorrow and truly wants to share her burdens, and also his quiet faith and optimism.
There are many things to love about this book. The young love that Willie and Missie share and the way they can hardly stand to be apart from one another is so sweet and tender. The faith message is not at all preachy, but instead is a gentle one of relying on God to sustain you through difficult times. There is a full compliment of secondary characters, other pioneers, ranch hands, townspeople in Tettsford Junction, and more, who all give the story the flavor of the Old West and the sense of oneness as a community. Everything just came together to make Love's Long Journey a very enjoyable read, or perhaps I should say re-read, since I'm pretty sure I first read it years ago as a teenager. In any case, it was every bit as good today as it was back then, and I'm really looking forward to continuing the series. I can tell that there is more story for Missie and Willie, and I'm eager to find out what happens next for them. -
Where can I find my Willy please?!?
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Books like this make you really appreciate the spirit and tenacity of the pioneers. It’s incredible the trials and tribulations that they willingly faced in the pursuit of bit of land and the promise of a future.
My favorite thing about these books is the simplicity. Sometimes that’s all you need. -
In Loves Long Journey Missie and Willie LaHaye leave their families and set out by covered wagons to head further West. Missie realizes she may never see her parents and siblings again. During the trip she suffers from home sickness but doesn't want to let Willie know how she feels. She also suspects she may be pregnant and keeps it from her husband until she is sure.
Willie has big plans for the future. He already has bought property and plans to set up a ranch there. He's very optimistic and doesn't notice that his wife is suffering from home sickness. The journey is long, tedious and tiring. Sometimes they travel through driving rain or scoring heat. They lose time because of the rain and fall behind schedule.
I felt like I was right there on the wagon train with Willie and Missie. I love to read books about the early travels on wagon trains and what these travelers had to endure to start out again in a new place. Missie may have been a petite little lady but she was also though. Oh she may have wished that Willie would give up and turn around to take her back to her parents but she didn't voice her discomfort to her husband. She hang in there despite all of her aches and pains and morning sickness.
Readers who enjoy historical wagon train adventures will love the Love Comes Softly series. Many have already read it and may be ready to re-read it. If you haven't read this series yet you definitely should make it a point to add it to your reading schedule.
I read a paperback copy of Loves Long Journey. A review wasn't requested. I have been honest with my thoughts and opinions shared here in this review.
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If you enjoy The Oregon Trail game, you will enjoy this.
This one started out great, but 25% in to it, I lost interest.
I'm beginning to realize that I'm not enjoying Janette Oke's writing.
This is a historical read.
One of my gripes about the writing is Janette Oke doesn't make it interesting.
It comes across as repetitive and .....boring.
I've read historical reads before so I know they can be made engrossing.
I don't really desire to own her books.
I may not be a fan of her writing style but I'm invested in her characters and settings.
I will continue reading this series and her other works my library owns.
Who knows? .....They might get better? -
While I might’ve enjoyed the first two in the series a bit more, it was fun and bittersweet getting to journey with Willie and Missie out west. I love these two so much! And little, precious Nathan. This book had its sad moments but also happy ones. I enjoyed it a lot!
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I really enjoyed this one out of the series! The story of Missie establishing happiness in a new home was very heartwarming. I still enjoy the first one best, but they’re all so good. Definitely rereads.
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Love's Long Journey is mainly about Missie and Willie's trip to Willie's recently purchased ranch, where they travel by wagon train to their new homestead. At first I thought that a whole book about traveling on a wagon train sounded pretty uneventful, but once I started reading I realized this was not the case as there were many "mini-adventures" that happened during the trip.
For me the biggest reason why I just loved this book is because of the relationship between Missie and Willie and the wonderful picture of what a godly marriage looks like through the example they gave. Now days there aren't many books written that promote a wife being submissive and joyfully obedient to her husband, but this book was the perfect way to sum up the essence of the godly wife model based on Scripture passages in the Bible. But over and over there were parts where Missie openly submitted to Willie and not only did she submit, but she willingly and joyfully submitted and put her husband above herself. Such situations were the scenes where she offering to live in their tiny one room house for another year so the house money could go towards cattle, and by giving up seeing her family and living in the town she had always known to move out to the cattle ranch with her husband so far away from her family. It was such a beautiful picture of marriage and for that alone I gave it a firm 5 stars.
Another thing I liked about this book is how when reading it, it lead me to gain a deep respect for the people who lived during this prairie time period, as it was not an easy life and there were not any of the modern conveniences we have today. Through the sorrows and hardships of this story, it opened my eyes to how difficult, but fulfilling it was to live in that time. -
I enjoyed this book a lot. I read this book as an audio book, so my experience may be different than others'.
This is the story of Missie, her marriage to Willie LeHaye, and their adventures together creating their life out west.
The first third of the book or so are their adventures on the wagon train going west. It takes them months to reach their destination and many things, from birth to death and everything in between, happen throughout their journey. Once they finally reach the town where their wagon train ends, Missie and Willie's new land is still a week or more wagon ride away. Missie being pregnant, of course, is forced to stay in town until the baby is born since there is a doctor in town. When the baby is finally born and Willie comes back to town to retrieve Missie and baby, Missie is finally able to see the land that her husband has talked about for so long. At first, she is disappointed, but could never let him know. However, as time goes on, Missie learns to love the new land and homestead she and Willie have set up.
A beautiful story of new adventures in the west. The author doesn't go into too much detail about any one thing, but instead keeps the story moving along to tell of the new family's adventures. -
Thoughts on the entire series.
Yes, I’ve switched to put the editions from the 80s on my Read shelf, since those are the ones I read and own, and I’m partial to the stories in all of their old-fashionedness, before the updated covers and later book edits that have gone into newer editions. (I didn’t read all of these in large print, but the cover art is the same.)
The first book, Love Comes Softly, was the first I ever read by Oke, my introduction into her sweet, warm, and simplistic style of storytelling that would make her one of my all-time favorite authors, up there with Henry James and L.M. Montgomery. Yes, I love my classic authors with their legendary works, but there’s something to be said for an author who just tells a plain story that gets at readers’ hearts.
The first three books of the series are my favorites, but the series is well worth reading in its entirety. A pity the film versions from Hallmark gradually strayed so incredibly far from the original stories. The films are enjoyable in and of themselves, but if you’ve only seen the films, you’d do well to see what Oke actually wrote about Clark, Marty, and the rest of these folks. -
-I decided to read this book because I absolutely loved the other books in the series.
-The category on the bingo board that this completes is a book that has been made into a film.
-What I liked about this book was the way that the author wrote it to make the reader feel the characters' mixed emotions when different things happened e.g. when one of the characters left her childhood home to live on a ranch with her husband she felt sad, happy, excited and nervous at the same time.
-What I didn't like about this book was the parts that made my eyes fill with tears e.g. a part when one of the characters dies and leaves her widowed father, her husband and her friends behind.
-I would recommend this book to anyone aged 12-100 because it is a romantic tale with a touch of humour and tragety added to it. Younger people might not understand certain scenes in the book. -
Beautiful series of Christian fiction.
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Re-read 2021
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So far book #3 is my favorite in this series! Reading about Missie and her husband's journey was funny, touching and loving.
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Loved this book. If I was to change anything I might have put a bit of comedy but then that might have ruined the whole book.
I definitely would recommend this book to many. -
I remember this being my least favourite in the series and it still is.
It's just a little too slow for me to enjoy it fully... -
This is the third book of the series. The first two books contain background, but this book focuses on the first daughter of the couple in the previous books and so begins a story that is mostly new and doesn't rely as much on them. I would say that the story in this book is complete in itself, except there isn't much of a story in it and it is more like a chapter in the saga.
I would sum this book up as: 1) Journey to new home; 2) Temporary Separation; 3) Struggles in the new home. And that pretty much tells everything. There are some births and deaths and new friends, but mostly the story is as boring as Missie finds the first several months of her life in her new home. I don't even feel like the relationships in this volume are as rewarding as in previous books.
The story is now from Missie's POV. Missie is little more than a Marty's mini-me. She is caring and generous but doesn't have as much opportunity. Willie is really not well developed as a character except that he comforts Missie a lot.
This is a Christian book. There are Bible passages, especially one that is repeated over and over because it is the theme verse Marty and Clark gave them. This book might seem preachy except for these people, their faith, and the wisdom and comfort they get from the Bible are a huge part of their ongoing life and death struggle. Part of that struggle is loneliness which is a repeated theme throughout the book. These two things really come through in the book - loneliness and the dangerous struggle to survive.
There are no mature themes. There is no sex. Even the one occurrence of a threat by a man against a woman is completely implied and never really stated explicitly not even be the character relating the event. -
Willie and Missie LaHaye are setting out for the Wild West and Willie's ranch. They've packed up two wagons and joined a wagon train. It's fun experiencing the wagon train through Missie's eyes; how she perceives the other people she's traveling. Once on the trip, Missie is sure she is pregnant, but she doesn't quite want to tell Willie, worrying how he will react. When another woman and her newborn die, Missie is even more reluctant.
Nothing bad happens to their wagon train apart from the mother and baby dying, but a young widow joins them after losing her husband trying to cross a swollen river. The trail arrives in Tettsford Junction and several families stay there. Willie's ranch is about two weeks further and he arranges for Missie to stay in town the last three months of her pregnancy. He doesn't want her stuck at the ranch, two weeks from any help. She is not pleased about being without him for that long, but there really is no option.
Little Nathan Isaiah comes along early and then the LaHayes travel together out to the ranch. Missie is dismayed at first. The house is a soddy, the land is bare and uninteresting and flat. She can hardly hold in her disappointment. It's a rough adjustment, but she loves and supports her husband, so she clings to God and does the best she can. Eventually, a neighbor appears, the promise of a new neighbor (their old ranch hand Henry and his wife), and the promise of a train(!), along with two years of life on the ranch, help Missie begin to be at peace with her new home. -
I listened to the audio book. The narrator, Ruth Ann Phimister, did a great job.
Awhile I enjoyed the writing, it seemed like the author used more telling than showing.
I enjoyed Missie's character but at times she seemed slightly annoying because she was never content. Even though, Willie was doing everything to keep her happy. She always wanted to go back home. But maybe that is how ladies felt back than when they left home. So, it was a cool insight overall.
I really liked Cookie. He was so kind and looked after Missie. I like how he was willing to help her.
My favorite character was Willie! He was so caring, protective, kind, and hard-working.
I love the faith-content! It was spot on!
Overall, I enjoyed my first book my Janette Oke. I will more likely pick up another book by her. -
Love’s Long Journey focuses on Missie and Willie’s journey by wagon train to the Ranch Willie has purchased. The first half is them with the wagon train while the second have focuses on their growing family and growing ranch. Although I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first two I still found it enjoyable. This was well written and I found the characters were likable. There was also even less backwoods talk in this book. While I do wish there had been a little about what some of the previous characters were doing I liked seeing Missie and Willie’s family and home grow.
If your looking for a solid Christian read then check this book out. I do suggest though that you start at the beginning with Love Comes Softly so that you’ll know what’s going on. -
A lot of pain, boredom, weariness and heartache took place in this book. If this is a good example of how difficult traveling on a wagon train heading west really was, I'm so thankful I never had to endure it. Deaths happened so suddenly that I almost had to reread to catch on.
I loved the courage and selflessness that Missie displayed and Willie was just as willing to put his wants and needs aside for his wife. Again, there was a lot of crying in this book but I guess that's to be expected because there was so much to cry about. This was a great addition to the series and I'm looking forward to reading about what happens next.
P.S- Honestly, I preferred the plotline in the movie. But that might be a biased opinion because I watched it first. -
November 2020 re-read, audiobook.
This was my favorite book when I read this series through the first time because of my love for all stories involving the Oregon Trail and westward expansion. Still a good book, and I enjoyed the narrator for the audio. I am sorry that the rest of the series was not produced in audio.
Time will tell if I pick up the actual books and continue my re-read.
One thing that I didn't remember from my first time through is that these books don't actually list a state or territory or specific location (Tettsford Junction is fictional), just a general sense of west and further west.
First read in high school (2004/2005).
