Spirit of the Herd

About the Book

Every person deserves a second chance. But, do other creatures of this Earth derserve them, too? This story tells of a thirteen-year-old girl, named Fen, whose love of horses could lead to tragedy; her brother, challenged by Autism; a stallion, who was so abused he may be too dangerous to train; a lone wild mare and her foal, who are dodging the paws of predators as they search for their herd; the mare's herd, lead by her strong stallion, as they gallop through the rocky mountains and lush valleys of Montana, outrunning ranch hands, who only want money from the capture of wild horses. Each of them will learn that a second chance is the only path to survival. Each will learn that second chances come only to those who have courage, hope, persistence, and people who love them enough to rish everything to save them.

About the Author

I wrote this book for several reasons, all of which are about describing the elegance and sensitivity of children and horses, and loving the act of writing and reading. As a child, I poured my heart out into a journal, under the covers with a flashlight, rather than face the demons of my dark bedroom. As an adult, I went to the University of Alaska and earned a B.A. degree in English Literature because I wanted to know the authors through their words, as fiction, I believe, is a corridor to the writer's soul. In college, I edited our periodical, "Permafrost", a wonderfully eclectic mix of poetry, short stories and free assocation writing. Later, I earned an M.S. degree at the University of Wyoming and became a Speech/Language Pathologist for twenty-five years. During that time, my passion was spending time with children who were diagnosed with Autism, as well as teaching children of all ages to read and write. One of the characters in my book, "Second Chances", is a child with Autism, who shows his family that what they perceived to be a disability, is actually a gift. My two children, ages ten and twelve, are prolific writers and readers themselves, but are most passionate about horses, spending most of their time riding and caring for their beautiful mares, Allegro and Heads Up Penny. They event and trail ride and have sleepovers in haylofts with their horse loving friends. Hay in the hair is typical in my house, but it's considered socially acceptable because we live in the mountains of Vermont, where the natural world and all its extraordinary elements are what you eat, breathe and love. Someday, I will take my children and their horses west, to see the grandeur that I recall from childhood, when my father took us camping in the rockiest of mountains and the lushest of valleys. Until then, I ride, I write, I read, I mother, and I love this moment, right now, when I am talking to you through words on a page.