We Gather Together: The True Story of Thanksgiving and the Woman Who Fought to Make It an American Holiday

About this book

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Castle and The Girls of Atomic City comes a new way to look at American history through the story of giving thanks. From Ancient Rome through 21st-century America bestselling author Denise Kiernan brings us a biography of an idea: gratitude as a compelling human instinct and a global concept more than just a mere holiday. Spanning centuries We Gather Together is anchored amid the strife of the Civil War and driven by the fascinating story of Sarah Josepha Hale a widowed mother with no formal schooling who became one of the 19th centurys most influential tastemakers and who campaigned for decades to make real an annual day of thanks. Populated by an enthralling supporting cast of characters including Frederick Douglass Abraham Lincoln Sojourner Truth Walt Whitman Norman Rockwell and others We Gather Together is ultimately a story of tenacity and dedication an inspiring tale of how imperfect people in challenging times can create powerful legacies. Working at the helm of one of the most widely read magazines in the nation Hale published Edgar Allan Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne Harriet Beecher Stowe and others while introducing American readers to such newfangled concepts as domestic science white wedding gowns and the Christmas tree. A prolific writer Hale penned novels recipe books essays and more including the ubiquitous childrens poem Mary Had a Little Lamb. And Hale herself never stopped pushing the leaders of her time in pursuit of her goal. The man who finally granted her wish about a national thanksgiving was Lincoln the president of the war-torn nation in which Hale would never have the right to vote. Illuminating wildly discussable part myth-busting part call to action We Gather Together is full of unexpected delights and uneasy truths. The stories of indigenous peoples immigrant communities womens rights activists abolitionists and more will inspire readers to rethink and reclaim what it means to give thanks in this day and age. The books message of gratitudeespecially when embraced during the hardest of timesmakes it one to read and share over and over at any time of year.