“We Gather Together: Stories of Thanksgiving from Then to Now, Young Readers Edition” by Denise Kiernan, c.2020, 2023, Philomel, $19.99, 312 pages

You’re going to have seconds, for sure.

The dressing was too good to pass up when the platter goes around again. Cranberry sauce, yeah, you have to have that when you can get it. Another scoop of green bean casserole? Yes, please. All your favorites are in one place, once a year, and you’re going to enjoy them – but as you’ll see in the new book “We Gather Together” by Denise Kiernan, getting to the table wasn’t easy.

More than anything in the world, young Sarah Josepha Buell wanted an education, but attending school was out of the question. Young ladies in the late 1700s simply didn’t do things like that but Sarah had a brother who understood her predicament. Horatio shared his education with Sarah, and so she grew up being able to read and write.

She “consumed books nonstop” but writing was her first love as she matured, married David Hale, and started a family. But then, at age 34, Sarah Hale suddenly found herself widowed with five children, and writing didn’t pay the bills. Still, with the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Sarah continued to write.

She penned poems and newsy articles, submitted them, and money began to trickle in. Soon, she was a published author of a novel, a rare thing for an early-19th century woman. In her novel, she described something she’d been thinking about for awhile.

She thought it was time for America to have a national day of gratitude.

Her idea was quite urgent in the time of strife. Civil War seemed imminent, and so Sara wrote to President Zachary Taylor, asking for help. 

He turned her away. So did Presidents Fillmore and Buchanan. Abraham Lincoln liked the idea, but he didn’t send the idea to Congress to make it permanent, nor did he suggest a permanent day for the celebration, which is not what Sarah wanted. Her hopes were pinned on a single day in which everyone from north to south gave thanks together.

Her wish would take decades to become reality...

You scarcely know where to begin. Do you have a forkful of turkey to start the feast, or do you live on the edge and have dessert first? Or maybe you should read “We Gather Together” before you even sit down.

Knowing the truth about Thanksgiving, how it began and the struggle to get something so simple and sweet to take hold, somehow makes the celebration feel more special. Author Denise Kiernan explains the foundation of the holiday by telling readers about Hale’s life, the times in which she lived, and her contemporaries, which will lead to lots of surprises for readers in the form of answers to questions you didn’t even know you had. Also interesting is that Kiernan touches upon groups for which Thanksgiving is no holiday at all.

This book is meant for readers ages 12 and up but it’s interesting for history lovers, curious kids, and adults who count Thanksgiving as their favorite holiday. Find “We Gather Together” and pass the dressing.