Review on House Tenafly Road by Rebecca Flores

The best historical stories place us in a different setting. The same goes for Adrienne Morris' ambitious novel The House on Tenafly Road. I was expecting to see a nostalgic view of a New Jersey village almost 150 years ago. But what I found between the covers was the gripping story of a complex man whose early childhood in poverty was multiracial (Delaware Indian and British) and whose battle wounds during the Civil War nearly destroyed his life and family. John Weldon is a brave and noble man, but he knows himself so little. The reader sees that he has the potential to be a real hero, and the girl of his dreams, Katherine McCullough, definitely sees him as one. John comforts others with his impressive knowledge of the Scriptures, but he himself has lost his faith. He considers himself unworthy - a weak man due to his addiction to a drug given to him by an army doctor - and secretly fuels his morphine addiction. Perhaps John is a classic antihero because as the reader watches as John's world crumbles around him due to his addiction, the reader desperately wants John to succeed. For the most part, John shows loyalty, courage, and compassion for others, although he is not as generous with himself. Instead of the main characters building a life in New Jersey, John's military career soon takes the young family into the wilderness of the Arizona Territory. Katherine can no longer be the suburban lady she was raised to be, she must become the wife of an officer in the most remote post she can imagine. John and Katherine are raising their two children in a tiny, unadorned cottage. I live in modern, air-conditioned Arizona and it was interesting to read about the unrelenting heat, flora and fauna, and of course the US Army's relationship with the local tribes of this region. The novel is long, but John the Path to Redemption is riddled with very realistic setbacks and mistakes, and I hung on to every word, eager to move on to the next plot development. In such a rich and complex book, different threads keep popping up. For example, and quite logically for a serious book on American history, Morris examines the issue of race, particularly images of Native Americans, through the eyes of well-read East Coasters, through the military, and through John Weldon himself. She also shies away from controversial subjects like that Weldon's Indian mother's alcoholism does not return. Her touch is so skillful that while it broke my heart as she saw atrocities against Apaches through the eyes of shocked and distant Americans in New Jersey, she also showed me the results of the clash of two cultures. lies John's nasty little secret - an addiction he keeps from his wife. I didn't realize morphine addiction was a problem among returning Civil War soldiers until I read this book and decided to google it. It is estimated that half a million men have become addicted to morphine through their ministry in our divided country. Back then, there were no rehab centers or 12-step programs. Perhaps the only hope an addict can have is faith, and Tenafly Road House is all about faith. Morris weaves themes of faith and love into this epic story so skillfully that all the stillness and clarity only emerge towards the end of the book. These issues have been resolved, at least according to my spot check, so I decided to give the book 5 stars.