Half-Broke Horses , by Jeannette Walls
In 2005, the author’s entralling but sad memoir The Glass House about her childhood was published and received critical praise, ending up with some 2.5 copies sold in 23 countries. When the public asked for more about the author’s life, her mother Rose Mary Walls persuaded her to tell an even more gripping tale about her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Since Walls wrote the story in the grandmother’s own words, she called Half Broke Horses a “true life novel”. Lily was born in West Texas in 1901. When she was six, Lily was helping her father break horses. She learned to ride, shoot, and when she was only fifteen rode her horse alone from Texas to Arizona to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. A born teacher, she also learned to drive a car and even took flying lessons. She married Jim Smith, owner of a gas station in 1030 when she was 29. They had two children, Little Jim and Rose Mary, and they became managers of a vast ranch owned by English businessmen. While living in Chicago working, Lily had a personal tragedy when her pregnant sister Helen committed suicide . Lily survived tornadoes, floods, the Great Depression, con men, bigots, and fools. She was smart, tough, and packed a pistol. Wall does her grandmother proud in this beautifully written story about a woman that won’t be corralled. Buy this or borrow it from your local library. Don’t miss Half-Broke Horses!
