The intriguing story depicted in Madison Kehler’s historical fiction novel, Journey of Hope, transports us back to 1915 to the Pale of Settlement, an exclusive zone in the western Russian Empire where Jews were allowed to live at that time. The expression “beyond the pale” was derived from folks emigrating out of that area, mostly to eastern Europe, which is exactly what Madison’s main character intends to do. Her reading of Chapter 1 was preceded by some friendly discussion about Winnipeg’s recent heat wave and by Susan Rocan, our very capable moderator, who recited our Inclusion and Land Acknowledgement statements.
The story that unfolds in Journey of Hope is immediately suspenseful. Madison’s main protagonist is a young woman named Bithiah whose father is demanding that she leave their home forever, accusing her of defiling his house with her filth. The filth in question is an illicit Bible, written in Yiddish, that her mother has discovered under her bed. Bithiah’s conversion to Christianity is intolerable to her Jewish parents, so she heads out on a journey that she hopes will eventually take her to the United States, the land of fulfilled dreams and freedom. At the last moment, her 17-year-old sister, Freyda, joins her in spite of Bithiah’s reluctance and sisterly advice that the trip will be difficult.
I don’t want to give away the story, so suffice it to say that the first chapter was enough to capture my enthusiasm and convince me to purchase a copy. The online chat group had a lot of questions for Madison which she was eager to answer. Susan began by asking where she got the inspiration for the book, to which Madison replied that her favorite musical is ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ which caused her to want to write a story about a Jewish family living in the midst of conflict. Madison wanted to know what would happen to the family in Fiddler on the Roof, both in America and Europe, so that is one reason she wrote about a Jewish family from the World War One era to Post-World War Two era. As well, her own family history was a part of her inspiration, having emigrated from that area of Russia many decades ago.
When asked about the research that went into the book, Madison recited an impressive list of sources, all of which are cited at the back of her book. She also indicated that she elicited some of her story ideas from a family history book that belongs to her grandmother.
The Journey of Hope is listed under the author name of Justine Kellner, which raised the question as to why she decided to use a pen name. She explained that for any kind of art that she planned to release to the public where people might have differing opinions or reactions, she preferred using her pen name simply to protect her privacy.
The book chat concluded with questions about her writing journey. She noted that it was six years from the time she began writing Journey of Hope to the release date of the book in 2024. Her finished manuscript was 335 pages comprised of approximately 90,000 words, which she published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. She said the assistance provided by Amazon was well-organized, including the formatting and layout of the book as well as the marketing process. She also received editing assistance from Avra Love, an editor and teacher here in Winnipeg, who was immensely helpful to her.
Readers can find Journey of Hope on Amazon in both paperback or Kindle edition on Amazon, along with a “Read sample” option covering most of the first chapter. You might also catch Madison sharing portions of her ongoing projects at the MWG Critique Circles, including her young adult novel titled Ham and Bread as well as a sequel to Journey of Hope.