Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses, By Jeannette Walls. Ms. Walls has done it again. Her words have taken the reader to another time, another place. Inside the minds and hearts of her characters. The book had originally set out to be about her mother (the infamous Rosemary in The Glass Castle) but after extensive research and storytelling within the family she wrote the book about the life of her grandmother Lily Casey Smith. It is the early 1900's in the Southwest United States. Lily lives on a ranch, they raise horses and cattle. Life is hard work just to survive. People don't wonder if they are happy. Except Lily does. She is one of those women that even at a time in America where women had little say, she had a big voice and presence. She went to college, learned to fly, was a horsewoman and trainer. There was very little she couldn't do and she always gave her best. Lily is a funny, sarcastic, honest and intelligent woman and it was exciting to follow her through her years growing up, getting married and then raising her family. A little like (A Land Remembered, by Patrick Smith), a bit like Little House on the Prairie. All the things we take for granted and luxuries we think we could not do without were rare commodities. But love, faith and hope kept Lily and her family going. Enlightening also to understand where and how Rosemary grew up and what subsequently became The Glass Castle story. A worthwhile and easy read that I really enjoyed.