Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Review, summary, etc.

The sub-title of this book is "A True Life Novel." It's written as if it were a memoir, in the first person, but it's the story of Jeannette Walls' grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, born in 1901. She grew up on a ranch in Arizona and was a woman ahead of her time. She was the oldest of three children and took on a lot of the responsibility of the ranch, working alongside her father from an early age.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's kind of a rip-roaring story. Lily is an incredible character. She was so strong and independent. Although her father seemed to appreciate how hard she worked and how invaluable she was on the ranch, still there was never any question that her brother would receive funding to go to college, not Lily. And even when he did send her to school, he eventually stopped paying for that in order to implement a crazy get rich quick scheme of his own.

But nothing stopped Lily. She made her own way, if none was provided. She rode 500 miles by herself through unsettled country for a teaching job. Later she learned to drive and even to fly. She was really amazing. And when you read the author's introductions and acknowledgements you realize that the book doesn't seem to exaggerate; this really was Lily.

She went through some tough and scary times. The book begins with the story of her survival of a huge flash flood that could have easily killed her, her sister and brother. And that's just the first of many adventures. I woke up one night unable to sleep and ended up reading at least half if not more of this book in one sitting. It's just such a good story. You'll love the book -- and Lily.