Outlander Book Club: Written in My Own Heart’s Blood Chapter 1 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Ian building cairns for his mother and Jamie. He believes them to be lost at sea, and he’s using the cairns as a way to connect with them. He sends his mother love, but he wants guidance from Jamie. I just love that he still turns to Jamie in this moment.

Then there’s the fact that he wishes Bree and Roger were around. He wants their guidance, too. He realizes now that he is the man of the family. It’s up to him to protect everyone, and he wonders if he should tell William the truth about his parentage.

At least he has Rachel. He thinks about her, and it’s so full of love. I love that he can have someone to lean on as he believes his mother and uncle to be dead, so shortly after hearing of his father’s passing.

However, there are things with Rachel that need to be shared. He needs to talk about his past, and he needs to share a few things about what he’s done. It’s clear that he’s worried about how she’ll react. She already sees him as a violent man. What will his past do to her, especially when it comes to things about Emily?

I am always curious about why we get this first chapter with Ian. What does this say about how other characters are becoming integral to the story? When I first read it, I did hope that it meant more of Ian because I love him.