Review of Red Willow's Quest

Red Willow's Quest - Heidi Skarie

Red Willow’s Quest is a story about a strong willed Shoshoni girl who is guided by her spirit guides to become a medicine woman.
Red Willow/Vision Woman is a beautifully drawn character. She is gentle and caring as well as brave and strong and even her flaws are loveable. She has a profound respect for her life’s purpose and never goes against her deepest beliefs. She learns to be less stubborn along the way and realizes that everything has its meaning on the whole, growing up to be a unique shaman. I admired the character, identified with her inner struggles and found myself wishing to be more like her.

I enjoyed the setting of the novel and was drawn to it instantly as I’m an admirer of the Native American culture and wisdom. I fell in love with Red Willow’s companions, being it her horse Good Thunder, her lovely dog/wolf Wind Chaser and her human protector and friend, the Kootenai warrior Masheka.
I admire the way the author handled the romance. It has a lot of emotional and sensual tension as well as a truly archetypal quality to it. The relationship develops into such a deep human connection. We can see how much the two grow together, how important they are for one another. While she learns to understand men better, he gains greater respect for women and together they harmonize their own inner masculine and feminine, which makes them stronger and more complete in the end. I actually find myself missing the characters now and wish I could read on.

This novel stirred many emotions and thoughts within me. I learned a lot from it as it came at the right time in my life. I’m so thankful to the author that she followed the guidance of synchronicities she mentions at the end of the novel and wrote such a wonderful compelling story. It touched me greatly and I will surely read it more than once.

To sum up, the story is equally fast-paced and soulful, blends action, adventure, romance as well as metaphysical and spiritual genres, and therefore may satisfy a wide range of readers. I highly recommend it!