Mrs. Mike

The Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan by Benedict and Nancy Freedman

Katherine Mary Flannigan gets on a train at sixteen to go to the far north from Boston. Her puppy, a black cocker, is in a basket at her feet. Her mother has sent her to her uncle who lives on a ranch outside of Calgary. She has pleurisy and the climate is supposed to be good for her. The way north is so snowy the train gets stuck on the tracks. Even now I’m breathless rereading her adventures. (I remembered the deep cold and the snow and the red coat of Canadian Mountie suitor.)

I must have read the book when I was in elementary school. And it must have been my mother’s, I just realized, when I looked at the date on the edition I have, 1947. What’s odd is my mother didn’t follow in Flannigan’s footsteps, but I wanted to and eventually did, in a way. She ends up marrying the Canadian Mountie and her life is pure adrenalin. She’s as strong as he is. Katherine Mary Flannigan’s story was a model for me of a different kind of life than being a suburban wife, something I didn’t want. Even though the book is titled Mrs. Mike, she was certainly her own person. I was lucky I had the choice to set out on my own after college and go as far north as I could imagine.