Beneath the Same Stars

A Novel of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War

By: Phyllis Cole-Dai

Narrated by: Elena Marino

A war you might never have heard of. A story you'll never forget.

August 18, 1862: On the Sioux reservation in southwestern Minnesota, Indians desperate for food and freedom rise up against whites in the region. Sarah Wakefield, the wife of a physician, is taken captive with her two babies. Their fate falls into the hands of the warrior Ćaske. As war rages, little does she know how entwined their lives will become.

Beneath the Same Stars is the gripping story of two people, caught between worlds, who are willing to do almost anything to defend those they care about - including each other. But the drama is bigger than themselves. Tragic forces have been set in motion....

Inspired by actual events surrounding the US-Dakota War.

Will Sarah and Ćaske survive? Buy the audiobook and start listening today!

About the author: Phyllis Cole-Dai has authored or edited nine books in multiple genres. Visit www.phylliscoledai.com to get your free sampler of her work.

©2018 Phyllis Cole-Dai (P)2019 Phyllis Cole-Dai

Beautiful story of betrayal and heartbreak!

I loved how well the native language was spoken throughout the story. Mesmerizing and a sad tale of how the early Americans took control of a nation of indigenous people and basically tried to erase their culture and belief systems and the tragedy that came along with it.

Fascinating History

Author, Cole-Dai did an excellent job of walking the listener through the every day life of Sarah Wakefield in the 1860's, from moving a young family to Minnesota, to her time as a captive in the U.S.-Dakota War. Her attention to detail really brought that period of time, the lives and beliefs of the native Americans and a little known part of American history to life. For all history lovers, a recommended title. I only wish the narrator had given the story time to breathe in her narration. I did receive the audiobook gratis for the review.

Moral Imagination

This is a finely written book of moral imagination, the story of a woman and a man, on the wrong side of history to each other, during our country's conquering of the Sioux even as the Civil War was in progress. It's a hard struggle to claim universal goodness as forces are waging to divide one from the other, but an American woman and a Sioux warrior struggle "to repair the world." This audiobook was provided free of charge.

Historical Fiction at its Best

“Beneath the Same Stars” brought history alive for me especially as an audio book. Author Phyllis Cole-Dai uses poetic language and deep descriptions of time and place to immerse the listener in events of 1862-63 leading up to and including the Sioux Uprising in southwestern Minnesota.

The reader, Elena Marino did an outstanding job pronouncing names and dialogue in the Dakota language offering insight into native culture. Additionally Marino’s skill in speaking Irish and Scottish dialects of the immigrants added to the color of the book, putting us right in the middle of the action.

The book centers on the true story of Sarah Wakefield, the wife of a reservation physician. Through her we learn about emerging pioneer life, as well as tribal life of “Blanket Indians” and “Farmer Indians” all competing to survive on the same land.

Cole-Dai’s extensive research and creative presentation closely follow the history of tensions, and misunderstandings that led to the Sioux Uprising. I have a deeper grasp of how two cultures clashed, yet felt empathy for both sides as I listened.

I think this book should be required reading in schools. “Beneath the Same Stars” has vital lessons for us today about the importance and patience required in communication and tolerance in today’s culture of diversity.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this audio book.

History Unjustly Forgotten

I spotted this book in the latest issue of the Historical Novels Review and was delighted that it has an audiobook. The narrator does a great job. If I'm honest, I didn't care for a couple aspects of how the story was told. Present tense has always sounded pretentious to me, and I didn't like the way flashbacks kept being dropped in. I would have preferred to hear Sarah's story chronologically. But these are matters of personal taste, and this is such important, forgotten history that I still recommend this book. I appreciated the Author's Note at the end. I love the cover too: a beautiful color palette and I recognize the historic photograph used for the man. :)