Table Of ContentPraise for
One Glorious Ambition
“Jane Kirkpatrick’s ability to probe the human spirit makes One Glorious
Ambition a soaring novel of love, compassion, and duty. Born a
nineteenth-century woman with few rights, Dorothea Dix nonetheless
challenged the nation’s most powerful men to provide humane treatment
for the hopeless—the retarded and insane. In Kirkpatrick’s skillful hands,
One Glorious Ambition inspires like few other novels.”
—SANDRA DALLAS, author of True Sisters and The Quilt Walk
“One Glorious Ambition is a compelling novelization of Dorothea Dix’s
crusade on behalf of the mentally ill. Kirkpatrick’s painstaking
documentation and customary attention to historical detail shine here,
and the connections between Dix’s personal relationships and her life’s
work stand out. Dix is a worthy American heroine. The interview section
at the end of the book adds many fascinating nuggets to the story.”
—SUSAN PAGE DAVIS, award-winning author of more than forty books
“Jane Kirkpatrick has the rare ability to use what’s known about
historical women as the foundation for compelling historical fiction.
Here, Kirkpatrick shines her light on the remarkable life of Dorothea Dix,
seamlessly blending fact and fiction to illuminate Dix’s journey from a
girl struggling to save her family to a woman championing all those in
need. Dorothea Dix can still inform and inspire modern readers, and One
Glorious Ambition is a story to be treasured.”
—KATHLEEN ERNST, award-winning author of the Chloe Ellefson
Mysteries
“Jane Kirkpatrick uses her considerable writing talents to bring Dorothea
Dix to life in this exciting historical novel. In doing so, Kirkpatrick gives
a voice and face not only to a heroic crusader but also to Americans
seldom seen or heard in our society—those living with mental disorders.
Her fiction reads like fact because it describes a campaign that still needs
to be waged and exposes societal flaws that have yet to be addressed.”
—PETE EARLEY, author of Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s
Mental Health Madness
“Thank you, Jane, for personally introducing me to Dorothea in your
book One Glorious Ambition. It is a joyful experience to come to actually
know someone I knew so much about. My admiration of Dorothea Dix
and her work has been deepened by your work, Jane.”
—DEAN BROOKS, MD, superintendent (1955–1982), Oregon State
Hospital
“A must-read! I was moved to tears by the sense of history, tragedy, and
hope of Dorothea’s life work accomplished on behalf of people with
mental health challenges. Every human being should know Dorothea
Dix’s story. Jane Kirkpatrick captures it magnificently!”
—GINA FIRMAN NIKKEL, PhD, president and CEO, Foundation for
Excellence in Mental Health Care
“Read this book and have Dorothea Dix transform your life. Be uplifted
not simply by the grand trajectory of Dix’s singular journey but by the
irresistible voice that Jane Kirkpatrick compels you to hear. A deeply
sensitive and intelligent young woman overcomes trenchant pain and
social barriers to fight tirelessly for those who have neither a voice nor
an advocate. Her impossible life is unraveled and liberated in this novel.
And read with a sense of urgency, for the battles fought by Dorothea Dix
more than a century ago are very much in need of being waged again.”
—CHARLES KISELYAK, producer and director of award-winning films
including Completely Cuckoo, Fearful Symmetry, and A Constant
Forge
PREVIOUS BOOKS BY JANE KIRKPATRICK
NOVELS
Where Lilacs Still Bloom
*The Daughter’s Walk
*A Land of Sheltered Promise
Portraits of the Heart
*A Flickering Light
*An Absence So Great
Change and Cherish Historical Series
*A Clearing in the Wild
*A Tendering in the Storm
A Mending at the Edge
Tender Ties Historical Series
*A Name of Her Own
Every Fixed Star
Hold Tight the Thread
Kinship and Courage Historical Series
*All Together in One Place
No Eye Can See
What Once We Loved
Dreamcatcher Collection
*A Sweetness to the Soul
Love to Water My Soul
A Gathering of Finches
Mystic Sweet Communion
Log Cabin Christmas (novella)
The Midwife’s Legacy (novella) NONFICTION
*Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt,
Community, and Craft
Homestead
A Simple Gift of Comfort
Promises of Hope for Difficult Times
*finalists and award-winning works
ONE GLORIOUS AMBITION
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
All Scripture quotations and paraphrases are taken from the King James
Version.
This book is a work of historical fiction based closely on real people and
real events. Details that cannot be historically verified are purely
products of the author’s imagination.
eISBN: 978-0-307-72943-9
Copyright © 2013 by Jane Kirkpatrick
Cover design by Kristopher K. Orr; cover photography by Liz McAulay,
Getty Images All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of
the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New
York.
WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random
House Inc.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.
v3.1_r1
To Dr. Dean Brooks and his compassionate daughters:
Ulista, India, and Dennie
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Cast of Characters
Epigraph
Part One
One: Like Orphans in the Chaos
Two: The Arrival
Three: Relative Rule
Four: Instruction
Five: Purposeful Behavior
Six: Why Are You Crying Now?
Seven: Orange Court’s Welcome
Eight: A Touch of Friendship
Nine: Friends Sublime
Ten: That Little Stability
Eleven: Tumbling Down
Twelve: Except in Fond Review
Part Two
Thirteen: On Her Own
Fourteen: No Paper, No Pens
Fifteen: Servants of Greenbank
Sixteen: An Orphan’s Tale
Seventeen: What Is Left
Eighteen: The Moment
Nineteen: A Second Journey
Twenty: Compassion in the Particular
Twenty-One: The Best She Could Hope For
Twenty-Two: Thousands Await
Twenty-Three: To Ask for More
Twenty-Four: Polishing the Soul
Twenty-Five: Thwarted Ambition
Twenty-Six: To Be Miss-Dixed
Twenty-Seven: To Absorb the Goodness
Part Three
Twenty-Eight: Battle Preparations
Twenty-Nine: Praying a Grant of Land
Thirty: A Change of Fortune
Thirty-One: Hooked
Thirty-Two: Compromise
Thirty-Three: Lessons of Loss
Thirty-Four: Men in High Places
Thirty-Five: The Bridge
Thirty-Six: Acceptance and Reward
Epilogue
Readers Guide
Author Interview
Acknowledgments
