Kimberly Duffy's "Every Word Unsaid"

Augusta Travers has spent the last three years avoiding the stifling expectations of New York society and her family's constant disappointment. As the nation's most fearless--and reviled--columnist, Gussie travels the country with her Kodak camera and spins stories for women unable to leave hearth and home. But when her adventurous nature lands her in the middle of a scandal, she's forced to leave America entirely. Arriving in India, she expects only a nice visit with childhood friends, siblings Catherine and Gabriel, and adventures that will further her career. Instead, she finds herself facing a plague epidemic, confusion over Gabriel's sudden appeal, and the realization that what she wants from life is changing. As she grows closer to friends, old and new, and allows their words of truth to heal parched places, she pictures a new future. But when the fallout of her past decisions finds her in India, will it ruin her chance to finally stop running?

I was expecting Gussie to be more of a hardened journalist, but instead she is a delightful, fun-loving, soft-hearted adventurer. She could stand to be less impulsive and thoughtless, but I loved her right from the start. I loved that "proving herself in a man's world" wasn't even on the table. She is great at her job and doesn't doubt it (though, to be fair, her family hates it). Now, when it comes to pushing herself to write where she is feeling led to write (as opposed to what she was hired write), there the doubts assail her, and every word that people have spoken against her come back to haunt her. 

Words . . . they can build us up or tear us down, both the words spoken and the words withheld. Gussie has grown up with constant iterations of what she does wrong and rarely an affirmation for what she does right, or even affirmations she deserves simply for being a beloved daughter and sister. It's no wonder she is constantly running away to see the world when she feels so unloved at home. 

No one in the book is perfect (except maybe her uncle--I loved him and the way he's constantly following and keeping an eye on Gussie while still allowing her her freedom); her friends are fighting fear, feelings of worthlessness, the desire to control. Sure, sometimes they feed off each other, but most of the time they are able to encourage each other, uphold each other, and speak truth into each other's lives.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.