On the day the Santee Sioux attacked the isolated settlement on Lake Shetek, the white women who lived there had long since accepted their youthful dreams would never be realized. None knew they were about to become pawns in a struggle between cultures. By day’s end, the five still alive recognized the challenges of their pasts were nothing compared to the strength it would take to survive nor that their views on what mattered most would be changed forever. One abandoned on the prairie with two small children, one left for dead, and three taken captive: these were not submissive wives simply following husbands. They endured and challenged, emerging strong and independent. This is their story … the story of who they were beneath the historical facts.

Sacrificing dreams and risking family, five women follow their husbands to an isolated Minnesota settlement. Struggling to survive, they develop resilience but none are prepared for the challenges they face when starving bands of Santee Sioux (Dakota) take up arms against the whites during the 1862 Dakota Conflict.

Laura Duley left Indiana as a newlywed. Promised a perfect life, she endured years on the hostile frontier and the loss of family only to be taken captive by the Dakota. Independent and protective, Lavina Eastlick was shot, beaten, and left for dead after witnessing the death of several of her children. In the hope that two still survived, she stumbled miles to reach safety. Christina Koch was a headstrong German immigrant determined to make a new life in America. Challenging her captors at every turn, she finally escaped to safety. Almena Hurd, unwavering in her commitment to family, was already dealing with a missing husband when she was sent alone onto the prairie with two small children. She survived by carrying one, then returning for the other, a quarter mile at a time. Julia Wright, the honest, practical wife of an unscrupulous trader, used her language skills and understanding of the Dakota to help the captives during their ordeal, becoming so valuable that her captor refused to release her to her rescuers, the Yankton Sioux Fool Soldier Band.

Their braided stories reveal a common will that allowed them to hold on no matter what and to never let go.

Original hardcover published January 2021.  NEVER LET GO, set in Minnesota and South Dakota, garnered a Will Rogers Gold Medallion and a First Place Laramie Award as well as being a dual Feathered Quill finalist and a finalist for the NM-AZ Book Award.

“With exquisite detail and a compelling narrative, Pamela Nowak has once again penned a remarkable story and has reset the horrifying events of Lake Shetek, Minnesota in 1862 in our imaginations. The women and their men in Never Let Go come to life as do their hopes and dreams and disappointments. One cannot read this book without wondering how we would have fared in the decisions required: How to survive, how to forgive and how to go on and when to say good-bye. Never Let Go is an extraordinary gift of story-telling.
—Jane Kirkpatrick, NY Times bestselling author of One More River to Cross

“Pamela Nowak, enters history to breathe life into characters. She also questions the events, prejudices, and what went wrong to create this epic cross-cultural conflict and disaster between the Whites and Dakota bands in Minnesota. This fine novel will do more than entertain you—it will move, frighten, and engage you with what likely happened in the hearts and minds of frontier women and children as they faced the worst ordeal of their lives.”  —K Lyn Wurth, author of The Not So Quiet Life of Calamity Jane

“In this riveting novel, Pamela Nowak has captured the human spirit in vivid and heart-wrenching detail. The narrative in Never Let Go is wrought with human emotion, a classic story of historical fiction that demands to be read, not only for its historical significance but out of respect and admiration for the women of Lake Shetek. Never Let Go is a must read of the highest degree!”  — Phil Mills, Jr., author of Where the Wildflowers Dance

“Rarely has there been such a horrifying book that is also an homage to the bravery of pioneer women. Never Let Go is the kind of novel you become lost in. Don’t miss this involving book.”  —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities Pioneer Press

“Nowak’s precise research and vivid imagination splashes this historic tragedy on the page in stark brilliance. Never Let Go holds the reader’s attention to the very last sentence. It is a must-read.”  —True West Magazine (Candace Simar, author of The Glory of Ordinary Time)

“The extensive research that is a hallmark of [Nowak’s] writing, made this book one that was hard to put down. This is one book that I have no hesitation recommending to anyone who loves this period in U.S. history, Minnesota history and/or books that focus on the strength of the human spirit.”  —Dave Ford, Amazon reader

“Pamela Nowak has the ability to transport you back in time and space to an era when the American midwest was wild and unsettled. She tells the stories of our pioneer women as they would have told them. She lends an authenticity and a commitment to accurate details of the time to show a broad vision of what life was really like on the prairie for those newcomers. I thoroughly enjoyed “Never Let Go” and I highly recommend it!”  —Amazon Customer

“Amazing novel… Pamela Nowak did extensive research to make this story historically accurate and brought the settlers to life. I loved this book!   —klv, Amazon reader

“Through “braided stories” the author has woven an unforgettable legacy for each woman. This is unlike any book I’ve read before, and I doubt that anyone could have written it better.”  —Senoj, Amazon reader

“I knew the basic history of this tragic time. But the author masterfully put personalities with the names. It made for a very interesting historical fiction read.”  —Judi Robertson, Amazon reader

“Loved the book, helped me find a new understanding of a period of history I had only known a little about. Characters are well written and show flaws that are part of each person.”  —Susan F. Howey, Amazon reader

“Extremely well written, and well researched. The characters are well thought out, and many of them based on facts… I highly recommend it.”  —Mary, Amazon reader

“I appreciate the authors keen ability to bring to life and tell the story of the surviving women. I had a hard time putting the book down and saddened when it ended.” —Donna Morse, Amazon reader

“I loved this book. It made me cry, get angry, and cry some more.”  —Melissa, Amazon reader

“I loved this look into another time. These women seem to spring from the page, and the story of how they all got to the Lake Shetek community is as fascinating as the confrontation that occurred there–and the time in captivity among the Dakota afterward…this was a wonderful, intense, well-researched story. I’d strongly recommend it for anyone who likes historical fiction, especially anyone who enjoy tales about ordinary women–or stories from the mid-1800s US frontier. —R.L.S. Hoff

“I really enjoyed Pamela Nowak’s “Never Let Go”. I was looking forward it’s release and I wasn’t disappointed. From start to finish it was a great read. The extensive research that is a hallmark of her writing, made this book one that was hard to put down. In a book that has a lot of important characters, Nowak did a great job of making them “real” (which they were) for us readers. We learned about their lives and gained a sense of how they became the survivors who lived through this ordeal. I love history and for a time lived not too far from where the events of the book took place. This is one book that I have no hesitation recommending to anyone who loves this period in U.S. history, Minnesota history and/or books that focus on the strength of the human spirit.” —Dave

“Pamela Nowak has the ability to transport you back in time and space to an era when the American midwest was wild and unsettled. She tells the stories of our pioneer women as they would have told them. She lends an authenticity and a commitment to accurate details of the time to show a broad vision of what life was really like on the prairie for those newcomers. I thoroughly enjoyed “Never Let Go” and I highly recommend it!” –Amazon Customer

“This book was fascinating so much trials and hardship. Then the capture, torture, and humiliation these pioneers endured; and not willing to give up.” —DSJ

“Amazing novel of the people and events surrounding the 1862 Dakota Conflict in SW Minnesota. This story takes place in the area I grew up. My dad was a local historian, so I’ve heard these accounts throughout my life and walked the areas in which the story took place. Pamela Nowack did extensive research to make this story historically accurate and brought the settlers to life. I loved this book!” —klv