Change and cherish

Young Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of Bethel colony, an 1850s religious community in Missouri that is determined to remain untainted by the concerns of the world. A passionate and independent thinker, she resents the limitations placed on women, who are expected to serve in quiet submission. In a community where dissent of any form is discouraged, Emma finds it difficult to rein in her tongue, and often doesn't even try to do so. This fuels...

Emma Wagner Giesy struggles to find her place inside--and outside--the confines of her 1860s religious community, where she is the only woman, as she reaches out to others on the fringes of her cooperative.