O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE "10 Titles to Pick Up Now" February 2018
AWARD-WINNING CREATIVE NONFICTION BIOGRAPHY
1885 - 1914 Mary Fields, a fifty-three-year-old second-generation slave, emancipated and residing in Toledo, receives news of her friend’s impending death. Remedies packed in her satchel, Mary rushes to board the Northern Pacific. Days later, she arrives in the Montana wilderness to find Mother Mary Amadeus lying on frozen earth in a broken-down cabin. Certain that the cloister of frostbit Ursuline nuns and their students, Indian girls rescued from nearby reservations, will not survive without assistance, Mary decides to stay.
She builds a hennery, makes repairs to living quarters, cares for the stock, and treks into the mountains to provide food. Brushes with death do not deter her. Mary drives a horse and wagon through perilous terrain and sub-zero blizzards to improve the lives of missionaries, homesteaders and Indians and, in the process, her own.
After weathering wolf attacks, wagon crashes and treacherous conspiracies by scoundrels, local politicians and the state’s first Catholic bishop, Mary Fields creates another daring plan. An avid patriot, she is determined to register for the vote. The price is high. Will she manifest her personal vision of independence?
PRAISE FOR DELIVERANCE
O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE An indefatigable former slave who braved the Montana Rockies on a journey to rescue a dying friend is the real-life subject of this 19th-century frontier narrative. Adventure abounds in this little-known tale of the heroic middle-aged woman who became the first female African American mail carrier in the U.S.— Hamilton Cain
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW “Under McConnell's hand, the atmosphere, frontier challenges, and landscapes of Montana come to life. Mary Fields is a true historical figure, dramatized in novel format. Her story will delight readers who look for a blend of accurate historical facts, hard-hitting drama, and realistic scenes powered by a feisty protagonist whose values and concerns become part of the social changes sweeping the nation.”—Diane Donovan
MONTANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION"...could hardly put it down. I grew up in central Montana and knew the area where the story took place, very well. A definite read for everyone!"—Debbi Kramer, Executive Director
WISHING SHELF U.K. 2016 Finalist Nonfiction "Powerfully written with excellent characterization. The author knows her history and seamlessly has her characters live within it."
"This author works wonders with her pen...prose really is lovely; every sentence is a joy to read...fascinating tell on the life of Stagecoach Mary.’ ‘...well researched, I’d recommend to history students, strong female hero."
A fascinating, hard-hitting saga. A finalist and highly recommended. The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
MIANTAE METCALF MCCONNELL’S RESEARCH enabled USPS historians to verify Mary Fields as the first African American woman star route mail carrier in the U.S. A fact-based chronicle of Fields’ life in Montana from 1885 until her death, the narrative examines women rights, bootleg politics, Montana’s turn-of-the-century transition from territory to state and its scandalous 1914 woman suffrage election.
The descendant of Montana homesteaders, Miantae Metcalf McConnell, born and raised in California, spent childhood summers in Montana on her grandparents' farm. She rode horseback, fished for trout and listened to her grandparents when they took momentary respites from continual hard work-leaned back at local grain elevators, quilting bees, cattle auctions or county fairs-conversed with friends and neighbors regarding politics and people who were different, not like them. Presently residing in Montana, the author became aware of Mary Fields in 2002. Believing that the actual history of this regional legend had to be more remarkable than residual embellished and fabricated accounts, she decided to investigate. The endeavor led her to research throughout the United States for over a decade. McConnell wove inherent knowledge of Montana with her new historical discoveries into Deliverance Mary Fields, a chronicle of Montana pioneers and the personal story of Mary Fields.
