This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Gail Combs Oglesby was born and raised in the western Detroit suburbs and lived for many years in California, and Texas. She now calls suburban Nashville, Tennessee her retirement home which she shares with her husband and fur kids. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of San Francisco in Human Resources, as well as a Doctorate in Business Administration from California Coast University. For over thirty-five years she worked in leadership roles in the Human Resources function in a variety of industries and from that experience published, HR Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Finding and Getting a great job which can be found on Amazon.
When not working, the passion that has bewitched her for the last fifty years has been genealogy. Originally the spell was cast while trying to solve a family mystery, which took nearly forty-years to uncover. Today, access to online databases and DNA has helped her, and thousands of others to make those connections to the past and Gail can often be found helping others with their search. Through that work she developed a deep admiration for what our ancestors, especially the women, have endured so that we could be here today. It is now her mission to bring their experiences to life through her writing and to celebrate the ordinary women whose accomplishments were anything but ordinary.
Reviewed by Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite
On the Wings of the Red-Tailed Hawk by Gail Combs Oglesby is set in the founding days of colonial Massachusetts. Told in the voice of a fictional Mayflower passenger named Sarah, it vividly depicts the tremendous challenges, hardships, and suffering the colonists faced as they attempted to establish a settlement in a strange land. Interwoven with historical figures and events, the plot moves at an engaging pace as Sarah’s life unfolds along with the growth and expansion of settlements in Plymouth and Boston. She experiences the dire struggle for food and medicine, changing relationships with Native Americans, the impact of civil war in England, accusations of witchcraft, a near-deadly wolf attack, a rape attempt, a major fire, and the loss of beloved friends and family.
In On the Wings of the Red-Tailed Hawk, Gail Combs Oglesby gives us an utterly moving and at times heart-wrenching dramatization of the reality of life in colonial Massachusetts. The narrative is emotionally and graphically descriptive. Written as a tribute to the ordinary women whose sacrifices made it possible for their descendants to thrive and prosper, it masterfully hits the mark. You can’t read Sarah’s words and hear her inner thoughts without gaining a greater appreciation for the hope, faith, tenacity, strong-mindedness, and personal courage that women displayed in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and grave danger. From the shipboard journey and first deadly years to the births of children and grandchildren, Sarah’s story will inspire fans of historical fiction and Early American history.
