We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, a President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace

The historical origins of the holiday are fascinating and compellingly recounted in this book guaranteed to brighten the cold days of winter. From the woman who made the holiday happen, Sarah Josepha Hale, to the current practice of gratitude meditations to revising the holiday so it can be a day of thanksgiving for all people, Kiernan neatly tells the story of a holiday that was a long time in the making. And Kiernan reads wonderfully I listened to the audiobook and so enjoyed having her in the car with me!

Author Denise Kiernan traces the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday and explores the idea of expressing gratitude collectively as a nation in her book, We Gather Together. Through the perseverance of writer, editor and women’s rights activist Sarah Josepha Hale, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be held on the 4th Thursday in November, during the Civil War in 1863. Hale was an incredibly accomplished “influencer” of her day, and had campaigned presidents for 33 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Her vision was to set aside the day as a time for Americans to enjoy a hearty meal with loved ones and to express gratitude for the harvest and for their many blessings. Lincoln agreed to proclaim the holiday out of a wish to bring our warring nation together.

The most surprising takeaway for me was that Thanksgiving was not associated with the Pilgrims until 1939 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt mentioned in his proclamation: “More than three centuries ago, at the season of the gathering in of the harvest, the Pilgrims humbly paused in their work and gave thanks to God for the preservation of their community and for the abundant yield of the soil.” We Gather Together describes how the Wampanoag tribe signed a treaty with the Pilgrims and taught the Pilgrims how to plant in the harsh Massachusetts climate. Though this alliance enabled the Pilgrims to survive the year, the Native Americans were not honored or even acknowledged in Thanksgiving tales until after Senator Edward Kennedy and his subcommittee issued a report on Indian education, unemployment and infant mortality in 1969.

We Gather Together enlightens us to the fact that Thanksgiving is understandably mourned by many Native Americans who see the arrival of the Europeans as the beginning of the end of their civilization.

Kiernan has written a very even handed story of Thanksgiving, with lots of interesting historical details that kept me engrossed from the start. She takes the reader beyond the tired old stereotypical stories of Thanksgiving, and presents the facts with honesty and good humor.
Hardcover 304 pages, Audiobook 7 hours, 15 minutes. /5 on Goodreads, Ripe Reads group.

A truly well researched book on the history of Thanksgiving and some amazing characters along the way with mostly a biography of Sarah Hale.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus

An in-depth look at this cherished American holiday and how it came to be. Our history books and politicians mislead us about the origins of this day. This book clears everything up about the misinformation that we have always believed and repeated.
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