Unbroken
Ranching is a life of extremes, perhaps even more so on the high plains near Laramie, Wyoming. And no one knows that better than Gwen Swan, who married both her husband Will and his family ranch where she works hard beside the men and struggles to raise her two children. Meg Braeburn, who has broken away from her family's ranch, expects unrelenting hard work when she takes a job on the place neighboring the Swans'. She and her son face an uncertain future, but she is determined to leave the past behind and make a good life for them. Gwen, who understands the corrosive effects of isolation better than Meg, includes Meg in her family and community and wins Meg's gratitude and support. But there is little time for reflection on anyone's part as the wheel of the seasons grinds relentlessly onward bringing disasters and triumphs and a a rough road for all concerned. The prodigal Swan son returns and relationships shift, old resentments resurface and friendships are strained and tested as everyone finds themselves struggling against the elements and each other to continue their way of life. In this remarkable debut novel the author presents us with fully formed characters that ring as clear and true as the picture of ranch life she paints as a background for the universal struggles we all confront.
MY REVIEW: Jamie Lisa Forbes' exquisitely written debut work, "Unbroken", has a permanent place in my heart. The author's own early years on a Wyoming ranch add an insider's observations which enrich the story line and bring vivid, fully-fleshed life to the characters. Ranchers exist on two levels. One is the regulated life, controlled by government strictures and standards and by the fluctuations of the costs of owning and operating a working ranch. Then there is the blood and bone life, which is unending hard work meshed with human wants and needs and the heavy hand of the forces of nature. Family members are dependent upon each other for all things, and neighbors must negotiate with care issues of land and livestock. Women not only bear children, cook and keep house, but they work side by side with their men. They also endure endless seasons of punishing weather made even more bleak by an isolated existence. When Gwen Swan married her husband Will, she became caregiver to her husband and children, her widowed father-in-law, and the land and livestock which provides their means of living. Outwardly somewhat faded and frazzled, Gwen still retains some of the pride of the glory of her former rodeo queen days. She wants more than the daily drudge of her routine. Meg Braeburn is a capable ranch hand, raising a son on her own while her ex-husband spends his days in prison. When Meg left home to elope with the love of her young life, she left her family behind. Her failed marriage ended her romantic dreams, but she is a good and loving mother to her young son, Jim. She finds work on the ranch next to the one owned by the Swans. Her boss is a drinker and a skinflint, but Meg needs work and a place to live, so she takes on the job of running his cattle. As time goes by, Meg and the Swans become friends and work to help each other as needed. Gwen is grateful for female company, and Meg appreciates the family's interest in her own son. Will's father John is a boisterous man whose bullying tendencies are equaled by a tough tenderness. Will and his brother Nick have always had a competitive relationship, and Nick left the family ranch as young man and branched out on his own. As the years pass, relationships change and hearts seek out comfort where comfort may be found. Lives are forever altered and what was once taken for granted now becomes uncertain. The author's subtle storytelling places us right into the lives of these characters, sharing with them their tragedies and triumphs. In an intimate, involving manner we follow them through with their starts, stops, and restarts, and we want so much for them to find peaceful resolution. "Unbroken" is unforgettable.
The Widow Smalls
Thirty years of browbeating from rancher Bud Smalls has penned his wife, Leah, into emotional isolation. Now Bud is gone and Leah owns the ranch, but there is no help forthcoming from Bud's brothers who want to force her out and take the ranch for themselves. When their attempt to humiliate her instead becomes her opportunity to succeed, Leah begins to find her way back to herself and learns how much she can gain by opening her heart. The Widow Smalls is just one of the stories in this collection by the WILLA Award winning author of Unbroken, Jamie Lisa Forbes, who writes about the hardships of making a living from the land with an understanding that comes from first-hand experience. Her deftly drawn characters include star-crossed lovers, a young rancher facing his first test of moral courage, an inscrutable ranch hand claiming an impressive relative, a father making one last grasp for his daughter's love and a child's struggle to make sense of the world around her. Each will pull readers into the middle of their stories and keep them turning the pages.
MY REVIEW: Award-winning author Jamie Lisa Forbes is a wonderful storyteller whose work I discovered through her debut novel, "Unbroken". Now, with "The Widow Smalls and Other Stories", she gifts us with a collection of short stories that resonate with memorable characters and compelling story lines. You will greatly enjoy "Ramona Dietz", "Lincoln's Nephew", "His Mild Yoke", "Crack-the-Whip", "The Good War", and "The Widow Smalls". The writer's own life experiences of growing up on a ranch add authentic atmosphere to each tale. The characters are well-defined, warts-and-all, and they are oh-so-readable as they encounter their own personal scenarios. The ranch culture, the land, and the weather are characters themselves, propelling destinies in an age-old rhythm to which humans and animals must do the dance. Highly recommended--be sure to also read "Unbroken".
Book Copy Gratis Author
Jamie Lisa Forbes
Jamie Lisa Forbes was born and raised on a family ranch along the Little Laramie River in southeast Wyoming. After graduation from the University of Colorado in 1977, she studied and worked in Israel for over a year and then returned to Wyoming where she ranched and raised a family for the next 15 years. After the family ranch was sold in 1993, she moved to North Carolina and eventually began law school at the University of North Carolina. While in law school, she started her debut novel, Unbroken. Unbroken won the 2011 WILLA Literary Award for outstanding contemporary fiction featuring women in the West.
In October 2014, Ms. Forbes' collection of short stories, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, was published by Pronghorn Press. The Widow Smalls and Other Stories won the 2015 High Plains Book Awards, short story category.
Ms. Forbes practices law in Greensboro, North Carolina.
https://www.jamielisaforbes.com/
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