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Comments from Readers

The author’s writing style paints a vivid picture of the reality of life on a small family farm in the early 1950’s. I was born on such a farm in 1949 and moved to the big city of Fargo ND when I was 8 years old. I was too young to help with the field work. Besides his description of farm life, his sharing of his personal life, the trials, victories and tragedies add a vibrant touch to a well told story of the resiliency of the human spirit.

 

—P.L.

A Big Challenge for a Little Brother:

The Story

A Big Challenge for a Little Brother: A Young Horse Helps a Young Boy Grow Up is the true story of a fourteen-year-old boy based on the author’s life. In 1953, Sylvan is suddenly tasked with caring for and training a young horse when his older brother leaves for the Army. This two-year odyssey takes boy and horse from tentative baby steps to a gratifying conclusion. The book is truly a coming-of-age story for both horse and rider. Along the way the reader gets an inside look at life in a large family on a small family farm in the 1940s and 1950s.

This boy/horse/farm story contains the seeds of a real-life series of events that occur later, told in the chapter A Final Connection. It is an amazing story of coincidence that becomes heart-warming and tragic at the same time, as well as an inspiration for all readers. It could have been written for a Hollywood movie, but it is fact not fiction.

About the Book

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
  • Size: 5” by 7”
  • Thickness: .597 inches (nearly 5/8 inches)
  • Pages: 224, 12-point, easy-to-read font
  • Full-color, glossy covers
  • Black-and-white interior with 14 pictures

PICTURES
  • Front and back covers were recently taken by author on site where he rode Rocky, plus a black-and-white photo of the author and Rocky taken in 1954.
  • The interior includes vintage photos and recently taken photos of vintage equipment.
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