The grassroots publishing sensation continues with WOVEN ON THE WIND, the second volume of women's writing from the heart of the American West compiled by the editors and ranchers Linda Hasselstrom, Nancy Curtis, and Gaydell Collier. They called on women in sixteen states and provinces to write about their friendships with other women in the West, a subject that they discovered has all too often been overlooked or underplayed. The result is WOVEN ON THE WIND, a unique and exhilarating collection, "a beautiful, intricate mosaic of women as mothers as well as friends" (Fencepost). In a region where time and space are large and solitude is a fact of life, these women tell of the beauties, ironies, rigors, heartbreak, and humor of life and how it is uniquely enriched by friendships past and present. The voices in this volume -- unsentimental, unflinching, and utterly unforgettable -- take readers into the fields, kitchens, barns, and souls of nearly 150 women and reveal a vital part of the real western American story. "Here is the essence of the West -- not the myth, but the truth." "In hauntingly lyrical verse and forthright prose, the women . . .describe the significance of female relationships. Highly recommended." Booklist, ALA "A grand celebration of western women." Bloomsbury Review "A tribute to . . . perseverance and exceptional talent . . . the best collection about friendship and women in the West that I have read." The Tulsa World LINDA HASSELSTROM is the author of many highly acclaimed books of nonfiction and poetry and the coeditor of Leaning into the Wind and Woven on the Wind. She divides her time between Wyoming and South Dakota. Based in Wyoming, Gaydell Collier is the coauthor of several books on horsemanship. Woven on the Wind Women Write about Friendship in the Sagebrush West By Linda M. Hasselstrom Mariner Books Copyright © 2002 Linda M. Hasselstrom All right reserved. ISBN: 061821920X Excerpt I My Feet Set Down Roots: The Grounding Woven on the Wind begins with writing by Western women who have set their roots deep in the soil, drawing nourishment from the earth as well as from "women remembered." Life in this arid country has taught these women to stay "close to the wind, earth, creeks, grasslands," learning from the land and from each other. Hardy and versatile, women have always been part of the West, but they were often invisible to the mythmakers who did, and still do, view the West as a male fantasy. "The joys of a woman"s life" were "not mentioned in books, not found in the universities or corporations." Ignoring the lively truth, or taking for granted women"s triumphs and talents, official historians and literature professors often acknowledged only the "antiseptic remains of history." But the truths endured, "growing quietly in the hearts" of women scattered throughout the West. Sagebrush, too, was often ignored or overlooked. Until Kendall Johnson began referring to "Mama Sage," little homage was paid to sagebrush, and even less to Western women. Philip Fradkin says that sagebrush has come to dominate the plains "by pure ordinariness" and persistence, another apt description of women. Many biologists now believe that sagebrush is as essential to Western ecology as women are to humanity - that without sagebrush, the entire ecosystem would collapse. For a while, women "pretended not to notice" being forgotten in formal accounts. Keeping busy with their households and other tasks, they kept an "undulant silence," accepting the idea that women were "supposed to want other things." Hiding the truth doesn"t make it disappear. News stories about drug use, alcoholism, and other ills make it clear that the West is not immune to the problems of the larger world. But even poor soil, even the greasy, hard-packed clay we call gumbo, can bring forth beauty - "gorgeous flowers in gumbo" - just as many of the stories in these pages grew from difficulty. Telling our stories helps us realize how similar we are and creates connections between women "with wind- chapped cheeks and wrinkle lines" who may never have met. Just as sagebrush, deeply rooted, shelters other plants and feeds an abundance of wildlife, so these stories can provide comfort and community for others, both in the West and elsewhere. Stoic acceptance was the first rule of enduring hardship of any kind in many Western families. Tradition taught Westerners never to argue, never to complain, because "the more it hurts / the bigger the pearl." In joy or sadness, we sang or wept "without saying a word," learning from some of our elders that "lonely is a state of mind." Our silence sanctioned and helped promote the creation of a Western myth that had no place for the reality known to women. Each woman who has written her story has taken a stand, saying, "I chose to break my silence." Writing of friends, mothers, teachers, and others, ordinary women have recorded