Sisters — Tim Stafford

Susan Nichols comes of age in nineteenth-century California under the shadow of her domineering mother, Rebecca, an early suffragist. She finds great solace in the company of her self-assured twin sister, Elizabeth, until, as teenagers, they are separated. Then loneliness sets in. Susan approaches adulthood speaking out for women's rights and even achieving notoriety as a lecturer for the cause. But she becomes increasingly aware that something is lacking in her life,' especially when charming, forthright traveling salesman Fred Konicek surprises her with a marriage proposal. Suddenly she is faced with the greatest dilemma of her life.

Can she balance her responsibilities to marriage and home with her undying yearning to fight for women's rights? Can she reconcile her domestic, everyday struggles with the larger landscape of her political values? The world does not seem as simple to Susan as it did to her mother.

Though she finds fulfillment in her role as wife and mother, the suffrage movement is never far from her mind. A close relationship with her niece and protege, Lucy, provides her with ongoing news from the movement's front lines in Washington, and Susan is determined to play a crucial, yet personal, part in the battle. Eventually, Susan learns to rely on her growing faith as she struggles to balance all facets of her life.

Sisters, the second book in the River of Freedom series, weaves thirty years of the suffrage movement into a tapestry of a newly emerging America. Through Elizabeth and Susan, w encounter real-life figures of the suffrage movement, and we participate in exciting events that culminate with protests and arrests at the White House, with hunger striking and forced feedings.