Wish I'd Known You Tears Ago

I was given Wish I'd Known you Tears Ago as a gift. I read the book in one day...it's that good! It's about a woman who basically runs to a place she loved as a little girl to rediscover herself. Towards the end of her journey she invites her college-aged daughter to join her in hopes of mending broken fences, and building a new bond. Many strange things happen during the last days of summer that changes the woman's life forever...Will it be for the best? You'll have to read the book to find out. One thing I can say is that you'll walk away with a few personal revelations of your own.

Stephen Bly is able to bring me to tears either with laughter or pathos. How he can write so believably about females amazes me. Having lived with school teachers and hearing their discussions at holiday meals and family get togethers Develyn and her love for her students mirrors several of the elementary teachers of my various family members. But Mr. Bly doesn't stop with believable characters, instead he keeps me reading to all hours of the day and night to see what kind of "fix" his characters will wind up in next. Delaney perhaps was the least believable of the bunch since most modern fillies would have solved the dilemma of pregnant or not in the length of time it took to get to a pharmacy, get back home and do the test. Then before they stewed for several weeks would have repeated the test. However, the anguish Delaney went through and the treatment of her mother throughout the whole ordeal of pregnant or not parallels well with the relationship existing between daughters and mothers witnessed in my own experience. With four sisters and myself and numerous daughters the yin and yang of rearing girls does see-saw endlessly and never seems to be completely resolved with the realization that both mothers and daughters can truly settle down to a permanent and lasting peace of simply loving one another undeservably/unreservably. Cooper Tallon? What can I say except could we clone a few of him for the widows of Texas. On the other hand I believe the Hunter Burkes of the world may have been cloned already. Casey Cree-Ryder's Jackson is every mother's wish for her daughters. Which leads back to the fact that Stephen Bly does men quite well also. A wonderful tale of Wyoming and the yen most of us have of re- visiting the wonderful times of our youth and resolving the heartaches of our middle or senior seasons of life. Made me want to revist the land of blue skys, wide open spaces and typical Western people, culture and terrain.

What a hoot....you find yourself smiling or laughing out loud when reading this series. I think the heroine Develyn is capable of stimulating Stephen's creative powers in producing at least 3 more adventures. I didn't want Develyn's summer vacation to end. This is a fun set of novels to escape in....if you're due for a vacation...and there's none in the immediate future...get lost with Develyn and you'll feel as if you'd been there by her side.

A great conclusion to the Horse Dreams Trilogy. Well written contemporary western fiction. Have you known people who just seem to be able to make friends with anyone, from truck stop waitresses to wealthy ranchers, from precocious 10 year olds to eccentic senior citizens? Well, Devy-girl, the main character in this series is one of them! The characters are continuously developed through the trilogy. Each book allows you to get to know new characters, and yet the people you met and loved in the previous books are still continuing to grow and even surprise you in the last. Great life-lessons learned without being preachy. . . well at least it is in character for a middle-aged 5th grade teacher from Indiana.

Indiana school-teacher Develyn Worrell feels weary so she resolves to seek some refreshing changes during her summer vacation. When she was a child Devy spent time in Wyoming and to this day as a mother of an adult child she considers it was amongst one of the best of times in her childhood. Devy concludes that she should return to that Wyoming serene time she has not found in recent years. However, the summer of her contentment does not work out quite the way Devy envisioned it as she learns you cannot go back as that dream place is not the same because you are not the same. Still she finds solace until her daughter Hurricane Dee arrives at the same time a close older friend suffers a heart attack. Other personal intrusions also occur, but the steadfast, calm and contentment she finds in her friendship with cowboy Cooper Tallon helps Devy through crisis after crisis almost as much as her faith in God enables her to help others like crazy Casey Cree ride out storms. Her faith also assists her in looking inside her heart to see a quiet kind cowboy beats there too. The third Horse Dreams tale (see MEMORIES OF A DIRT ROAD TOWN and THE MUSTANG BREAKER) is a terrific ranch contemporary tale that stars a wonderful heroine who holds the character driven story line together. The eccentric support cast augments Devy's summer of contentment as she seeks and finds peace in spite of being at the center of chaos caused by her nurturing relationships with others. Everyone needs a Cooper (apt name for a quiet supportive cowboy) as his caring serves as a respite for Devy. Stephen Bly provides a warm inspirational character study of a woman who learns solace is found in the heart and soul of a person. Harriet Klausner