While she's not mannish, she doesn't understand why it's such a big deal that she prefers farmwork to knitting and cooking. Rosetta is extremely relatable and likeable. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this book moved me so much, and in some respects the why is irrelevant. This is one of THOSE books: the kind you can't get anything else done until you finish it the kind that makes you convinced that Jeremiah and Rosetta are a part of your life the kind of book you sneak away at work to take "bathroom breaks" because you just can't stop reading the kind that leaves you at an absolute loss as to what to do with yourself when it's over. It has taken me weeks to try to write this review, simply because I'm not a good enough writer to put into words how strongly this book affected me. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, "I Shall Be Near To You" is the intimate story, in Rosetta's powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman's amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life's challenges side by side. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marraige is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife.
With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredubous husband. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier. Though she's always worked by her father's side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. An extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband, inspired by the letters of a remarkable female soldier who fought in the Civil War.
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