Her follow-up novel to the best-seller The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls's Half Broke Horses presents the exciting tales of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. From life on a Texas farm breaking horses at the age of 6 to teaching destitute children in the smallest of towns and running a gigantic ranch, Smith's story is a triumphant one. She overcame poverty to make a happy existence for herself, never letting bad times get her down. The woman's outlook on life was, "When God closes a window, He opens a door. But it's up to you to find it."
While Half Broke Horses doesn't amount to the same level of astonishment as to what the author had to go through growing up the way she did in The Glass Castle, this book does have a great insight into life for an independent, tough-as-nails woman growing up in the early 1900s. If you haven't read either book, I recommend starting with Half Broke Horses as it will give you a glimpse into the author's father, Rex Walls, as well as some background of what the author's mother's childhood was like. Both are great books, but if I had to recommend only one it would be The Glass Castle. However, Half Broke Horses is a great, easy read for all lovers of American history and stories about personal triumph.
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