Cowgirl Dreams

About the Book

Cowgirl Dreams begins with the earliest memories of a young girl growing up in rural Central Maryland during the 1960s.  The landscape of home, which includes playmates, pets, and surrounding farms and woods, serves as Betsy’s teacher, protector, and source of identity during the troubled years from the Cuban Missile Crisis through the close of the Vietnam War.  

A child’s world--with all its fear, fantasy, hope, mystery, and frustration—is intimately and honestly revealed.  The anger and confusion of adolescence, too, emerge as childhood is left behind, and a teen’s introspection raises painful questions.

What colors the vignettes with a common hue are two filters: threats to the intensely loved landscape of home, and ongoing fear surrounding the training and riding of a high-strung horse.  These themes play themselves out in the cathartic release of long-held dreams that collide uncomfortably with reality’s sharp edges, both in the wilderness of California and the hills of Howard County, Maryland.

About the Author

Elizabeth Easley is a teacher, naturalist, writer, and mom who lives in northeastern Maryland with her daughter, two cats, and a speagle (springer spaniel/beagle). Although she no longer rides horses, she continues to explore nature, by foot, bicycle, inner tube, and cross-country skis.