Lucy of the Trail of Tears — James D. Yoder

Cherokee Lucy Drake staggers on the Trail where 4,000 died, heart pounding with a desire to live. Leading her injured mother and separated from her father, she crosses treacherous rivers, hoping for peace in Oklahoma. Here Lucy gains a classical education, though not without heartbreak and tragedy. Following the Civil War, she falls in love with trader Andrew Greenway and rides over the prairie to the Kansas cowtown of Wichita where she helps begin the town's first church. Lucy gives her life for others, both figuratively and literally. Winner of a Best Book Award from the Missouri Writers' Guild.