Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

This book is touted as being a novel but in reality is the story of the author's grandmother.  I believe it's the kind of story that people might tell around the kitchen table, embellishing it a bit as it is told with no intent to deceive but rather that not everyone remembers every detail.

Lily Casey Smith was born in 1901.  Her father owned a 160 acre farm where he broke and trained horses.  He father had a speech impediment which meant that Lily often had to act as his voice.  Her father did not fully appreciate her academic aptitude and felt that he could teach her better. Lily worked in every possible capacity on the farm.

Eventually she left to teach even though she was not properly trained, the authorities sensed her ability to offer students a broad education.  Lily went on to marry a charlatan who had led her down a romantic path.  She divorced him and moved on.

Lily married again and she and her new husband operated a gas station. Later the couple managed a farm and came up with a novel idea about irrigating it. Lily was the type of person who was handed a lot of lemons in her life and she chose to make lemonade.

A story about the tenacity of the human spirit.

Ladybookbug!