We Gather Together

September 7, 2020
Journalist Kiernan (The Last Castle) examines the “cultural, ancient, religious, and secular customs” behind Thanksgiving, and the campaign to make it a national holiday, in this wide-ranging account. Noting that harvest festivals and “observations of thanks and gratitude” have taken place on nearly every continent throughout recorded history, Kiernan reveals that the 1621 gathering attended by Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians in Plymouth Colony wasn’t actually “the first thanksgiving” in America—Indigenous peoples had been holding their own ceremonies for centuries, and European settlers and explorers held thanksgiving feasts as early as 1541. Though George Washington proclaimed the first national “Day of Thanksgiving” in 1789, it wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln, seeking unity in the midst of the Civil War, made it an annual holiday, thanks largely to the efforts of magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale (1788–1879), who had been imploring presidents to issue such a proclamation for years. Tracking how the myths and traditions of Thanksgiving have evolved (and sparked controversy) over the decades, Kiernan contends that the holiday should symbolize “one element above all”: gratitude. Packed with vivid character sketches, intriguing historical tidbits, and lucid meditations on the psychology of giving thanks, this unique chronicle casts the holiday in a new light.

October 15, 2020
Kiernan traces the history of the formalization of Thanksgiving Day while reframing the holiday's sense of gratitude. The author's overarching concern is the timeless role of gratitude in the practice of thanksgiving days scattered throughout the year. Her main character is Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), who, as a magazine editor, became "an influencer...of fashion, manners, and the well-set table" as well as a force behind the publishing of such writers as Poe, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Whitman. In addition to penning "Mary Had a Little Lamb," she displayed a singular passion in championing the making of Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. She believed that in bestowing federal stature upon Thanksgiving, the citizenry would experience "a grand spectacle of moral power and human happiness," and she lobbied presidents to support her cause, beginning with Zachary Taylor. Hale emerges as an intriguing yet hardly revolutionary historical figure. "As tirelessly as Hale may have advocated, in action and voice, for women's education and marital rights," writes the author, "she stopped far short of being a suffragette. Hale would never lobby for the blanket rights of women." Throughout, the author attempts to burnish Hale's appeal, with mixed success. "Hope sprang eternal. Her pen would not rest," writes Kiernan, emphasizing her subject's ceaseless striving for "a coming day of thanks that would herald the virtue of gratitude in these cruel times." As the author admits, Hale was a traditionalist who felt that "anarchy is worse than despotism. The final third of the book is the most interesting, as Kiernan engagingly explores the economic, political, and cultural roots and consequences of holiday practice, including the connections between Thanksgiving and football ("never in her life would Hale have envisioned football being part of the national celebration"), war, pandemics, and relevant historical episodes such as the 1621 day of thanks between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people. Not as riveting as Kiernan's previous books but still a bright tribute to Thanksgiving's expression of gratitude and grace.

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October 16, 2020

Journalist and author Kiernan (Girls of Atomic City) sheds insight on the life story of Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), who was born shortly after the American Revolution. Widowed in 1822 with five children to support, she turned to poetry and literature, ultimately becoming editor of the influential Godey's Ladies Book in 1836; a position she held until age 88. Her passion, throughout the turbulent 1800s, was for Congress to grant a national day of thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. She lobbied successive presidents, eventually convincing Abraham Lincoln to proclaim a day of gratitude in 1863, among the midst of grief during the Civil War. Kiernan describes how Hale's influence created a lasting impact on American society and details how the myth of a Pilgrim feast was not part of her envisioned celebration. The author continues by spotlighting the integral place that giving thanks had in worldwide traditions, and the measurable positive benefits of gratitude on health and well-being. VERDICT Thanksgiving can often get lost in the commercialization of the holiday season, but this history of its origins puts the holiday in a fresh perspective. Readers seeking an inspiring story of persistence and achievement will appreciate. --Laurie Unger Skinner, Highland Park P.L., IL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2020
Journalist and best-selling author Kiernan (The Last Castle, 2017) considers three aspects of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. First, she offers a biography of Sarah Josepha Hale, the prodigiously talented woman who petitioned six presidents before achieving a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863. Then, there's a history of Thanksgiving itself, from George Washington through a couple of centuries of evolving celebrations (first football game: Princeton v. Yale, 1876; first parade: Gimbel's,1920). The third strand addresses giving thanks, as Kiernan recounts the cultural, religious, and secular histories of thanksgiving festivals, including observances by Indigenous peoples and African Americans who feel that their involvement in history has been ignored, marginalized, or appropriated. Kiernan extols the psychological benefits of adopting an attitude of gratitude, and stresses the importance of staying connected during times of division, whether in 1860 or 2020. With engaging writing and fresh research, everything comes together in a thoroughly enjoyable package. Readers will find humor (Kiernan's take on turducken: "a poultry nesting doll with gravy"), pathos (public events were canceled during the 1918 flu pandemic), and surprises (Pilgrims weren't connected to the holiday until 1939, when FDR attempted to change the date). Lots to consider, especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)