Ida Mae and Her Passage to Chautauqua by Rick Taylor

Inspired by snippets from the author’s life, Ida Mae and Her Passage to Chautauqua (Koehler Books) is a historical nonfiction narrative by award-winning poet and author, Rick Taylor. The story spans two generations, recounting the journey of Ida Mae Glockley and that of her son Adrian from their childhood to adulthood and their various adventurous travels.

The Unpredictable Nature of Life

The story begins in a small town in West Virginia called Mammoth Falls. Ida Mae is a thirteen-year-old girl who, along with her best friend Jess, is navigating the complicated world of puberty, wild teenage hormones and sexuality. While Jess’s mother encourages Jess to explore her sexuality, Ida Mae is raised in a home with strong Christian values, so is inclined to practice abstinence until marriage. Unfortunately, the road to keeping her virginity is not as straight as Ida Mae expected it to be. It is made especially harder since she keeps hearing stories of Jess’ adventurous encounters with boys, stories which make Ida Mae “as hot as a Christmas Goose”. If she is to keep her promise of abstinence, then she needs to find a distraction.

Luckily, Ida Mae meets Dodger, a banjo player with a big heart who gives her a much-needed distraction. He offers to teach her how to play the banjo, and pretty soon, she starts singing too. As her new-found love for music grows, it diverts her on a path that changes the course of her life. At nineteen, Ida Mae is a happily married college student. Unfortunately, her happiness is short-lived when she experiences the tragic loss of her husband. This forces her to make a life-altering decision of quitting college and enlisting in the Women’s Army Corps in Vietnam. As Ida Mae’s journey into womanhood continues, she learns to battle the unpredictability of life, find love and make adventurous travels with her friends and loved ones.

Smooth Travels

Through Ida Mae and Her Passage to Chautauqua, Rick Taylor beautifully captures the essence of what it means to live a full unfiltered life. Taylor’s creative writing skills are evident through this story as He merges two beautifully executed and equally interesting storylines into one, covering central themes of love, loss, family, faith, resilience and the tragic outcomes of war.

Taylor has also done a marvelous job crafting the setting of the story, as it moves from the small, charming valley of Mammoth Falls to the bustling streets of Pittsburgh, the Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, and the breathtaking view of Lake Chautauqua in New York. Although this is a fast-paced novel, I appreciated how the events in the story flow smoothly from one to the other, making it easy for readers to understand and follow the narrative’s progression.

A Poetic Touch

One of the things that makes this book stand out from others is the incorporation of poetry in the narrative. I am a big fan of poetry. So, I loved how the poems blend in with some of the themes covered in the story and how they add more depth to the story, allowing readers to empathize with the characters’ emotions. Taylor’s talent for poetry shines through in this book.

Overall, Ida Mae and Her Passage to Chautauqua is a compelling tale. Its various themes and delightful characters pull at the strings of your heart and makes you care about what happens next. You feel like you’re a part of her journey and can’t help but keep turning the pages to see what comes next. If you’re into historical fiction with well-developed characters and a strong sense of place, then you’ll enjoy this one.