After six grueling years, Frieda begs Bennie to leave
Dos Cacahuates, but he won’t budge. With two children
and another on the way, she grudgingly remains. What does
this impasse suggest about their relationship?
Her spirits noticeably lift when first her fourteen-year-old
sister, then the Rutherford family, educated easterners,
arrive for the winter. What kind of companionship and pursuits
do the newcomers bring to the Arizona-Sonora border settlement?
Does she overvalue the admiration and affection the Rutherfords
heap on her sister? If so, why?
Why does Frieda recommend Jed Pearson as hired hand for
their scenic tour of the Arizona Territory?
Her father forbade Frieda to send Ida with the Rutherfords.
What in Frieda’s youth prompted her to lie to her
father, and encourage her sister to do the same?
When catastrophe strikes, the shock hastens the premature
birth of Frieda’s third child, a long-desired daughter.
Immobilized with guilt and grief, she’s unable to
care for, or even see the infant. Which aspects of the tragedy
render her helpless?
How did you react when Frieda regains her strength via
A Woman’s Guide Through Troublous Times and focuses
it exclusively on finding her sister? Does the book’s
strict regimen estrange her from her Dos Cacahuates family?
Or does it assist her in doing what she is compelled to
do?
What do you think of Sheriff Follett? Of Ida’s
condition when Frieda reclaims her? Of the cautious assistance
she receives from Prescott Jewish community? Which of the
other diverse personalities she encounters interested or
irritated you?
To free Ida, Frieda is forced to befriend and assist
Jed Pearson. What new burden does her relationship with
him impose on her?
Frieda has survived a lone battle with realities of life
in the Arizona Territory. What has she learned about where
she is, and where and what she comes from?
Discussion Guide