The West – My Corner

Front cover contains: young, dark-haired woman in red dress holding flowers

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

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Leaning into the Wind: Women Write from the Heart of the Wes

by Linda M. Hasselstrom, Nancy Curtis, et al.

In this collection of essays and poems, 125 women from six states share their experiences living in the west. Most stories are about ranch life. Some relate childhood memories while others share reminiscences from adult years. Some pieces are by women in other professions such as a veterinarian and a teacher in a one-room school. All these works are about women who survive what life throws at them, whether it’s a cantankerous bull or an undesirable husband.

I met several of the authors featured in this anthology through Wyoming Writers. It was refreshing to read their work, some of it for the first time. Having been a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, I enjoyed reading these women’s stories of hardships on the prairie and being thankful I wasn’t there.

In one essay, a woman talks about how some people think ranch life is glamorous. If you’re under this misconception, read this book. It’ll open your eyes to a world of hard work, hard times, and some rewards. You’ll respect the rancher when you finish the book.