Book Review Echoes of Forgotten Places

Helen Wand is a master storyteller who makes a time period in history come alive with her new novel, "Echoes of Forgotten Places." It takes a skilled writer to balance staying true to historical facts and weaving a compelling fictional story based on family stories and family records. Wand created characters that readers will find well-defined and relatable. 

Her previous book,” Where Eagles Nest: The Second Wave of Pioneers,” begins in the 1880s when Alex and Julianna Lampert immigrate from Lichtenstein in search of a land where a family can raise their children and participate in the American dream. The newlywed young couple settles in the rugged hills and pasture lands above the Sandy River in Oregon. In Book Two, the Lampert family saga stretches from 1897 to 1916. The compelling story opens up with Julianna trying to cope with Alex's sudden death as well as the death of her newborn. Wand paints a vivid picture of a family of eight children struggling to survive in an unforgiving land filled with many hardships, little income, and a mother who is overwhelmed and grief-stricken. With a tragic drowning, a fire that wiped out the whole town, facing unpredictable, harsh weather, the Lampert family was challenged daily and found support from neighbors in the surrounding community. It was evident that faith was important to the family. They were devoted to one another, and their resilience made them stronger and able to keep going despite adversity. The emergence of Frank Wand and his homestead offer gave the Lampert family a sense of hope. The story brought to the forefront the pride and hard work associated with living off the land.

Wand's descriptive writing effectively captures the flavor of the time period and the heart and soul of each character. Her writing makes the reader feel like they are walking in their footsteps. She creatively weaves into the story innovations of the early 1900s, such as the emergence of cars, phones, and improved farm machinery. Two of the Lampert daughters were quite taken with the suffrage movement, which added an interesting piece to the story. 

The book was well-written, and considering the scope of the time period it covered, I found it an impressive effort keeping my attention right down to the last page,   

 ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Wand, a now-retired educator, spent most of her career working as a Medical Technologist while researching her true passion; history.

Raised in the Columbia River Gorge hill country, she listened to the tales of her father and grandmother, who described the hardships of the early settlers, whetting her appetite to record their stories. She is a board member of the Troutdale Historical Society, a member of the Crown Point Country Historical Society, and the Oregon Historical Society, and she resides in Gresham, Oregon.

Helen, a child of the rugged hills in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, has fearlessly trespassed into the lives of her immigrant ancestors who first settled at the west end of the Gorge. A child of a large Catholic family, Helen is at the side of Julianna, raising and trying to feed a large brood of children. Likewise, she is at the side of Julianna’s husband, Alex, who is building a farm and, ultimately, a community. Those who see the neat farms and green fields of Multnomah County east of the Sandy River will understand how it began. And how hard it was.

Helen Wand’s brilliant research breathes life into a slice of local history that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.