My Heart Remembers

fine historical fiction

In 1886 New York City, the tenement fire killed Ma and Da Gallagher, leaving their three offspring orphaned. The oldest eight year old Maelle has no time for grief as she watches adults split the trio into different families. She gives the new parents of baby Molly the family bible and she gives her brother Mattie the family photo. She vows to them to one day find them even as everyone calls her Mike as her short haircut leaves her looking like a boy. In 1902 Louisiana, traveling photographer Mike Watts continues her search for Mattie and Molly. Mattie has spent a lifetime being discarded by one family after another as he currently lives in Texas. Teenaged Molly was too young to remember the fire, her siblings, her biological parents, or even her birth name as the only family Isabelle as she is called ever had was the Standlers of Kansas City and they just died but her older Standler brother scornfully informs her who she truly is. --- Although the plot device of having siblings separated via the orphan trains with one eventually seeking the others has been used a lot, Kim Vogel Sawyer refreshes it in MY HEART REMEMBERS by rotating the story line between the three lead characters. Thus the audience obtains a deep look at what happened to the trio a decade and a half after the fire radically changed each of their lives. Historical fiction fans will appreciate the saga of the three Gallaghers. --- Harriet Klausner

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful story

I don't usually write reviews, but when an author brings you so totally into the lives of her characters that you literally cry and rejoice right along with them, she deserves the small amount of time it takes to write about it. This is one of the best reads I've had in quite some time. I highly recommend this book to all readers. It is wonderful to find a storyteller that realizes that you don't have to fill the pages with graphic sex and coarse language to make a story believable! Just make sure you have plenty of tissues available. I will definitely be looking forward to reading many more of this author's books.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Another Home Run

Kim Vogel Sawyer has hit another home run with this latest historical novel. Three orphaned Irish-immigrant children become separated when they are sent to Missouri to be adopted. Maelle, age eight, remembers her father¿s last words, ¿Watch the wee ones.¿ But circumstances have ripped her siblings from her sight. Seventeen years later, she still longs to find them. She wonders if she will ever see Mattie and Molly again. Matt remembers he had two sisters, one older and one just a baby. His adopted life has meant a series of temporary homes¿some good and some abusive. He hopes to find a new life when he accepts employment as a ranch hand. Molly only remembers her name as Isabelle, the loved daughter of a wealthy family. When her parents die, she is unwilling to accept her brother¿s story that she was adopted and is the youngest of three orphaned Gallagher children. With the years, hope of a reunion seems impossible. But whispered prayers and a faith that sustains proves to be greater than the obstacles. Kim Sawyer has weaved another heart warming story. She has taken a little known piece of history, the Orphan trains that churned their way out West form 1854 to 1929, the desperate solution to find homes for the thousands of children who crowded city orphanages, and brought the plight of thousands alive in the hearts of three unforgettable characters.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Outstanding, wonderful ETC...

This book is on my top 10 book list!!
I'll love this book forever!!!
I couldn't stop reading the book,it was that good!!
You MUST BUY it!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Worth a read

My nook copy was missing a couple of pages. I found the story line interesting, but at some parts a bit boring. Loved to have known more of each ones childhood. I felt like more could have been written there. However, this is the first book I've ever read that had me in tears at the end.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book.

I love that it walked us through something that happened to many families. If you have not read this one, I recommend it highly.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

good read

This was a nice feel-good story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very good book

I got this as a free nook book and was happily surprised how much I enjoyed it.
The "orphan trains" are often a footnote in history. I loved the story of how the children grew up in such different families. Also liked the side story of child labor of the time and that not everyone who got an orphan wanted to have a child to raise, but forced labor. A well written story with historical and spiritual themes tied quietly throughout. Feel the need to check out more books by this author and more about the orphan trains.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books I have ever read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I just couldn't stop reading. A page turner at its best. I think that very person who loves Inspirational Fiction should read this book. I cannot wait to read more books by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Kim Sawyer Writes Another Winner

I first became acquainted with Kim Vogel Sawyer when I read the three books that now have been republished as Kansas Weddings. Her courage and skill in addressing difficult subjects such as mentally disability and alcoholism made me seek her out again. My Heart Remembers tells the story of three siblings who traveled west on one of the ¿orphan trains¿ and were separated. Others have written orphan train stories, but rarely so well. Hope, love and joy flow in spite the hardships that the oldest two children endured, and the betrayal that the youngest experienced. Predictably, the siblings reunite by the end of the book, but road they each travel and the dreams God gives for the future make it well worth reading. If you are already one of Kim¿s fans, delve into her latest story. If you have not yet read anything by Kim, My Heart Remembers is a great place to start.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Heartfelt Historical

MY HEART REMEMBERS By Kim Vogel Sawyer Reviewed by Marion Kelley Bullock It¿s 1886. Three Irish immigrant siblings are orphaned when their parents die in a tenement fire. Destitute and with no family in New York, they are placed in an orphanage. Eight-year-old Maelle Gallagher determines to keep her younger brother and baby sister with her, but the orphanage decides differently. The children are placed on an orphan train and sent to Missouri to be adopted. Each child is given to a different family, but Maelle vows to bring them together again¿ someday. Seventeen years later, Maelle is still searching. But her hopes and her memories have grown dim. She wonders if she¿ll ever find Mattie and Molly. Kim¿s rich and tender story is based on a time in history when orphan trains really did carry homeless children from New York to new beginnings. Maelle¿s experiences¿ some good, some bad¿ are interwoven with those of her brother and sister. As I read their stories, I felt their anguish, imagined their turmoil, and gloried in their triumphs. I believe you will, too.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

My Heart Remembers captured my heart from Chapter One and I could scarcely put the book down until I could find out if the two sisters and their brother would ever be reunited or not. Filled with captivating characters, faith, and a story that will keep the pages turning, this novel will touch the hearts of readers and fill them with hope and inspiration.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

D.Reeser

This is a very good book. Well written. I love historical novels and especially christian ones. The story keeps you on your seats edge wanting to know what happens next. It would make for a good series. Thank you Mrs. Vogel-Sawyer.

I enjoyed this.

This was simple to read. Perfect for light summer reading. It was a little easy to anticipate but I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and sweet story line.

Good but preachy

I read a good bit of historical fiction. I enjoyed this book but it felt a little preachy to me. I am not saying that the message she was trying to convey about God is bad or shouldnt be there, it fits in well with the story. Just that a bit more subtelty would be nice. Other than that I thought it was a nice story. Great if you are looking for a quick read and don't mind being preached to via historical novel.

Great Read

I couldn't stop reading this book and rooting for the characters to be reunited and find the "home" they were longing for. This was a great book that I'd recommend to anyone.

Historical Suspense

This book is a wonderful historical suspense. Reading will definitely take you back in time. To how things were done in the 1800s or so. It's amazing what we all take for granted. I like the book so much I gave a copy to a friend. I'm definitely getting more from this author.

A Heartwarming story

Most books that I read I can tell where they are headed and guess the next few pages... but "My Heart Remembers" kept me interested from beginning to end. The author wove this story in such a way that I was drawn into the lives of the characters and their struggles from beginning to end.

Grab a box of tissues, a wonderful story!

A great read about orphaned children in the early 1900s. A love story about families. 287 pages, making it a quick read for a weekend. Have a box of tissues ready!

Spirit

I absolutely loved this story. I fell in love with the characters and I would have been proud to have known these children. The author took a fairly simple story and turned it into a well crafted work of art. It was beautiful. The human spirit at it's best and at it's worst is truly something to behold. The love and faith of children is a lesson for all. Without the love of the father these wee ,ones and so many more would be lost.