To Helga, the promise of the $10,000 reward outweighed any threats of failure. She faced thd question, “what does fear keep you from doing?” and decided she was unwilling to let fear or disapproval keep her from action. Feeling her family’s future lay in her hands, she knew she must try to win the wager. So, with Clara by her side, Helga turned to the East. (page 99)

This is a gem of a book. Helga Esby’s forgotten walk is a forgotten story that is brought to life through the efforts of a keen historian and the family members who safeguarded the small fragments that remained after years of silence.

In 1984, historian Linda Hunt read a story submitted to a state history contest. In the late nineteenth century, height of the victorian era, a woman and her daughter had walked across North America, on a bet in order to win money to save the family farm. From coast to coast, braving wilderness, weather, outlaws and collecting goodwill, Helga and her daughter Clara walked. They talked to newspapers, worked for their room and board and collected signatures from prominent Americans along the way.

Tragically, this story was nearly forgotten. Her husband and children were ashamed of her walk – in her Norweigan immigrant community, during a time when women belonged at home, Helga’s actions were scandalous. She wrote a manuscript about her experience, but upon her death, her daughters burned it.

In this book, Hunt reconstructs Helga and Clara’s journey. She places their actions into historical context, offers descriptions of what they might have seen and pieces together the story through interviews, historical documents and news accounts.

Hunt is a good storyteller and this is no dry historical account. The story unfolds like good fiction and even has a surprise ending. It left me thinking about the importance of family stories – and women’s stories and wondering what other amazing tales have been lost to prejudice and ignorance.