Fascinating portrait of Isabella Bird for those who love authentic historical fiction. Linda Ballou tells the truly amazing story of Isabella Bird, the British explorer in the nineteenth century in great descriptive detail. Hard to believe this intrepid explorer suffered from chronic pain and depression before taking off to the Hawaiian Islands, San Francisco, and Colorado...all in a time where women did not track by themselves. Isabella's pluck and courage is a beacon for women today who dare to accomplish the unthinkable. Mountain him was a great champion of the native Indians and mountains. Their mutual love of the wilds lives on. Great book for learning about Isabella Bird and how to overcome adversity and enjoy the healing beauty of nature.
Rebecca Rosenberg, Author Gold Digger
Picking two of Bird's most dramatic, life-changing adventures -- and taking a few fiction writer's liberties -- Ballou crafts a fast-paced novella that carves Isabella Bird firmly into our memories.
We join Bird in Hawai'i, riding through lush floral jungles and up and down volcanic mountainsides. These arduous treks (and "lomi lomi" massages afterward) heal spinal ailments that have crippled her since childhood.
Then we follow Bird into Colorado's Rockies, where a grizzled but courtly mountain man leads her atop a 14,000-foot peak, "holding hands with God and taking in his vast creation."
That's all we get. But it's just right. Ballou makes us feel we know Isabella Bird. And she makes us want to find Bird's own writings so we can follow her into Vietnam, Korea, China, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkey, Morocco -- everywhere she went in her wild, wide-ranging life. Mark Hein-Poet
Zest for Life
Ballou sweeps you away with vivid scenes and characters of old Hawaii and Colorado and bittersweet views of a changing world. But the real joy is riding with a recovered-invalid Englishwoman whose zest for life bursts from every page. It's clear the author knows the history, horses, and yearnings of the human heart. Carole Beers, Author-Pepper Kane Mysteries
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