If you love historical fiction, this is the book for you. Natalie, a classically trained pianist and singer ventures to the West with her brother. This adventure leads her to discover many Native American tribes. She is enamored by their music and begins to record their songs on paper and on a recording device. She also champions the rights of the tribes to be able to continue singing their songs without repercussions. Overall, this was not an interesting read for me. I skipped a lot of parts and just wanted the book to end sooner. ( )

This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After flubbing a concert that she had prepared for all her life for, Natalie is despondent for 5 years, barely existing in her parent's upper-class home. Her brother, George, comes home to Arizona and persuades her to join him when he travels back to the Southwest. And this twist of fate provides her with a new career, hearing and transcribing the American Indian's songs. During this time in the early 1900's the Indians were forbidden to sing their native songs, and the children were sent to "Indian schools" to be assimilated into white culture. Natalie's work enabled the children to learn the songs that their forefathers had written. I thought the book was farfetched, but there is a copy on the internet scanned that can be freely browsed to add context to what the transcription of the songs looked like. ( )

Once again author Jane Kirkpatrick proves her wonderful ability for writing historical fiction! The Healing of Natalie Curtis is based on the true story of an exceptional pianist who traveled west in the early 1900s. As she met and interacted with Native Americans, she discovered a fascinating musical culture far different from the classical music that she'd been trained in. Her fervent efforts to preserve this music led to an even bigger agenda---help Native Americans gain the freedom that was rightfully theirs. Who would have guessed that this would help her with her own healing, both physically and emotionally?

The Healing of Natalie Curtis kept me fully captivated until the very last sentence, and I always appreciate the author notes that she shares. Kudos to Ms. Kirkpatrick!

I received a copy of this book from Revell Books via Library Thing Early Reviews. ( )

Interesting story. Also, met the author. Would read more of her books. ( )

Warning: Read this one at your own risk, as it is likely to send you down the rabbit-hole bigtime.

Natalie Curtis was a classically-trained musician who became fascinated by the then-forbidden songs of Native Americans. The U.S. government's assimilation policy removed many Native children from their homes and sent them to boarding schools where their native language, music, dances, and religious observances were banned. Curtis finagled a variety of sources, including support from then-president Theodore Roosevelt, to finance a years-long project to collect and record these songs and stories before they disappeared, and to present them in a massive book with illustrations by Native artists.

That's the part that will send you down the rabbit hole, since looking for objects and ideas mentioned in passing will lure most curious readers to the computer for a spider-web of searches that will leave Google tattered and smoking.

The printed page, however, does a good job of following Natalie as she is introduced to and ultimately immersed in a geography and culture which she had never known. Along the way, this pampered and emotionally delicate musician finds her own strength and her own healing in her quest.

Kirkpatrick also handles the delicate notion of where to draw the line between research and appropriation -- a dilemma which Curtis apparently also faced. ( )