When Half Broke Horses arrived at my house I was a little skeptical. It wasn’t something I would have picked out for myself – early 20th century, cowboys and ranch-living – but I trust those who chose it as The Slow Readers first book, so I got to reading.

What a pleasant surprise! I expected the book to be more along the lines of We Were the Mulvaneys or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – solemn, detailed and deep. But Half Broke Horses is beautiful and charming. Written in first person, Jeannette Walls, gives voice to her grandmother’s wild life.

It details the life of Lily Casey Smith, from her days growing up on a ranch in Texas, to her stint in big city Chicago and back to a ranch with her husband and two children. While most people would have trembled at the thought of leaving home alone at 15, trekking across the country on horseback for weeks and starting life in a new town, Lily jumped at the chance. After enduring flash floods, losing multiple jobs, and sorry excuse for a husband, strong willed doesn’t even cover it. She tells even the darkest parts of her life with humor and spunk.

This book has definitely been added to my life of favorites. I was excited to get home from work every day, hop in bed with Slayer and see what trouble Lily Casey Smith was getting into. Lily’s determination to keep herself and her family afloat is so inspiring and makes me want to get off my butt do something adventurous.

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