WREN Magazine, May 2014
Book Review
By Sara Diane Doyle
Public Relations and Information Manager
Converse Country Library
Douglas, Wyo.
What happens when a 30-something East Coast socialite musician in the early 1900s marries a sheep rancher from Wyoming? A lot of letters home about life on the range, that’s what.
An Improbable Pioneer is a collection of Letters from Edith Healy, written to her mother and friends back in Boston, that shares a slice of life in Wyoming. From the honeymoon trip across the United States to life on the plains, Edith found no shortage of amusing topics to report on.
She wrote copiously, sharing about her first night in a sheep wagon (including how many layers of clothes she wore to stay warm) to the big Fourth of July party hosted by one of the local ranches. Between personal notes to family and friends, readers get a sense of the sort of woman it took to tame the wild Wyoming landscape.
Edith’s charm and strength shine through her recollection of events0. These letters are a delightful glimpse into the daily life of a woman who fearlessly traded a life of relative comfort to join the man she loved in the middle of a vast wilderness.
The accompanying photographs and commentary from Cathy Healy (Edith’s granddaughter) make this book a delightful read as well as an insightful history lesson. This is a window into history that readers should look through.
Book Review
By Sara Diane Doyle
Public Relations and Information Manager
Converse Country Library
Douglas, Wyo.
What happens when a 30-something East Coast socialite musician in the early 1900s marries a sheep rancher from Wyoming? A lot of letters home about life on the range, that’s what.
An Improbable Pioneer is a collection of Letters from Edith Healy, written to her mother and friends back in Boston, that shares a slice of life in Wyoming. From the honeymoon trip across the United States to life on the plains, Edith found no shortage of amusing topics to report on.
She wrote copiously, sharing about her first night in a sheep wagon (including how many layers of clothes she wore to stay warm) to the big Fourth of July party hosted by one of the local ranches. Between personal notes to family and friends, readers get a sense of the sort of woman it took to tame the wild Wyoming landscape.
Edith’s charm and strength shine through her recollection of events0. These letters are a delightful glimpse into the daily life of a woman who fearlessly traded a life of relative comfort to join the man she loved in the middle of a vast wilderness.
The accompanying photographs and commentary from Cathy Healy (Edith’s granddaughter) make this book a delightful read as well as an insightful history lesson. This is a window into history that readers should look through.