Sacramento Book Review gives Why We Ride a great review:
Like many girls, I fell in love with horses at an early age. I’ve owned several and currently care for two. My fascination has never faded. Even now, my breath will catch as I watch my mare fly across a field at full gallop. Therefore, I was very interested to read Why We Ride and I was not disappointed. Verna Dreisbach, the editor of this book, did an excellent job of selecting the essays that comprise it. No two stories are the similar. Each writer in this book faces a different situation. One woman takes years to see her father in a new light. Another watches underserved children bond with the horses they ride in an equine program. One woman faces deepening anxiety issues, while another watches her son growing into a responsible young man. Another helps her 92-year-old grandmother ride once more. In each of these situations and the others in the book, horses enrich these women’s lives in different and surprising ways. This book will make a great read for every woman who has dreamed of riding, has owned a horse, or is awestruck watching a horse run free.
Reviewed by Annie Peters
Click here to see the article online.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Why We Ride Recommended as a Beach Read
Beach books by and for animal lovers....by OregonLive.com
Why We Ride is a collection of 27 short essays by women who are both writers and riders. Best-selling author Jane Smiley leads the way, in a story that ends with: "It's time to give them some credit for having an inner life, and past time to study it." Needless to say, she's talking about horses.
Smiley's introductory essay perfectly sets the scene for the writers that follow, and each gives ample credit to horses for having an inner life and for having profoundly affected their own inner lives.
Some of the women speak of insights garnered about marriage from being around horses. Some write about the way horses changed the way they dealt with their fathers. All talk about being better people -- better women -- because of horses.
Click here for the link to the article.
Why We Ride is a collection of 27 short essays by women who are both writers and riders. Best-selling author Jane Smiley leads the way, in a story that ends with: "It's time to give them some credit for having an inner life, and past time to study it." Needless to say, she's talking about horses.
Smiley's introductory essay perfectly sets the scene for the writers that follow, and each gives ample credit to horses for having an inner life and for having profoundly affected their own inner lives.
Some of the women speak of insights garnered about marriage from being around horses. Some write about the way horses changed the way they dealt with their fathers. All talk about being better people -- better women -- because of horses.
Click here for the link to the article.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Contibutor Published in Literary Journal
Contributor Jill Widner's story, Akualele, has just been published in The Hummingbird Review. Be sure to check out this great literary magazine.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Why We Ride Literary Contest
Verna Dreisbach sponsored the first ever non-fiction writing contest this year for the San Mateo County Fair, Literary Arts Division, in California. The Why We Ride contest was open to both men and women, all ages and ended on April 30th. On June 13th, the winner of the writing contest, Melanie Denman, received an autographed copy of Why We Ride and a cash prize of $100. While at the fair, Melanie read her winning piece "All There Is To It." Congratulations!
Verna will sponsor the Why We Ride writing contest again next year. Start writing!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Reading at Powell's Books
Five of the contributors met at Powell's Books in Portland on June 6th at 7:30 p.m. to read from the anthology, Why We Ride. Contributors included Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Janice Newton, Chansonette Buck, Valerie Riggs and Jill Widner.
Reading at The Elliott Bay Book Co.
Seven of the contributors to Why We Ride, from 4 different states, were able to attend the Seattle reading at The Elliott Bay Book Company on June 5th at 4 p.m. Contrubitors were: Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Janice Newton, Chansonette Buck, Valerie Riggs, Kathryn Hohmann, Diane Mapes and Jill Widner.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Why We Ride on Blogs and Websites
Lisa Romeo, one of the contributors to the anthology, posted an interview about Why We Ride to her blog. For the chance to win a free book, respond to her blog by Sunday, June 13.
You can also find Why We Ride on the following sites:
Equine Chronicle
Horse Girl TV
American Horse Publications
Michele Scott, contributor to Why We Ride, writes about the book on her blog at Professional's Choice
The Northwest Horse Source
You can also find Why We Ride on the following sites:
Equine Chronicle
Horse Girl TV
American Horse Publications
Michele Scott, contributor to Why We Ride, writes about the book on her blog at Professional's Choice
The Northwest Horse Source
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Website Now Active
Please take a look the website for Why We Ride at www.vernadreisbach.com. There, you can also read an excerpt from Jane Smiley's foreword.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Why We Ride in Seattle and Portland
Join us on Saturday, June 5th from 4-6PM, at ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY in Seattle, WA.
Contributors reading are: Michele Scott, Diane Mapes, Janice Newton, Valerie Riggs, Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Chansonette Buck, Kathryn Hohmann and Jill Widner.
Join us on Sunday, June 6th from 7:30-9PM, at POWELL’S BOOKS in Portland, OR.
Contributors reading are: Michele Scott, Diane Mapes, Janice Newton, Valerie Riggs, Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Chansonette Buck and Jill Widner.
Contributors reading are: Michele Scott, Diane Mapes, Janice Newton, Valerie Riggs, Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Chansonette Buck, Kathryn Hohmann and Jill Widner.
Join us on Sunday, June 6th from 7:30-9PM, at POWELL’S BOOKS in Portland, OR.
Contributors reading are: Michele Scott, Diane Mapes, Janice Newton, Valerie Riggs, Samantha Ducloux Waltz, Chansonette Buck and Jill Widner.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Join Us At the Folsom Borders!
Date: May 15, 2010 1:00 PM
Folsom - Borders
Location: 2765 E Bidwell St, Folsom, CA 95630
Verna and Chansonette Buck will be reading at this event. We hope to see you there.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Library Journal Review
Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives. Seal, dist. by Publishers Group West. May 2010. c.254p. ed. by Verna Dreisbach. illus. ISBN 978-1-58005-266-5. pap. $15.95. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6726812.html?industryid=47112
Dreisbach writes that we choose a horse for many reasons, such as beauty, ability, what we see of ourselves reflected in the horse (or what we wish we were like). All 20-plus contributors to this collection—for example, Jane Ayres, Kara Gall, Michele Scott, and Jacqueline Winspear—believe that their horses taught them something about themselves and made them stronger, better people. If you're looking for a rational, objective reason as to why women ride, it will not be found in this book—all the contributors write of a passionate love and connection with the horse (sometimes in spite of being physically injured while riding), and most are impressed at being in control and/or partnering with such a beautiful, graceful, and powerful animal. VERDICT Animal lovers and readers of horse memoirs such as Susan Richards's Chosen by a Horse and Jane Smiley's A Year at the Races (Smiley here contributes a foreword) will enjoy this compilation.—Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6726812.html?industryid=47112
Dreisbach writes that we choose a horse for many reasons, such as beauty, ability, what we see of ourselves reflected in the horse (or what we wish we were like). All 20-plus contributors to this collection—for example, Jane Ayres, Kara Gall, Michele Scott, and Jacqueline Winspear—believe that their horses taught them something about themselves and made them stronger, better people. If you're looking for a rational, objective reason as to why women ride, it will not be found in this book—all the contributors write of a passionate love and connection with the horse (sometimes in spite of being physically injured while riding), and most are impressed at being in control and/or partnering with such a beautiful, graceful, and powerful animal. VERDICT Animal lovers and readers of horse memoirs such as Susan Richards's Chosen by a Horse and Jane Smiley's A Year at the Races (Smiley here contributes a foreword) will enjoy this compilation.—Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL
Why We Ride Released!
Today is the official release date of Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in their Lives (Seal Press / May 2010 / $15.95). Again, thank you to the amazing women who have contributed to this anthology. It would not have been possible without you! I feel that I now have 26 new girlfriends and I can’t wait to meet all of you.
Why We Ride sales have already done quite well, having gone into a second printing prior to the release date! Amazing! Thank you, readers! More great news to share soon…
In Why We Ride, educator, literary agent, author, and editor, Verna Dreisbach offers readers twenty-seven personal, heart-felt stories by women whose horses have been a catalyst of personal exploration—each horse providing insight, revealing their hidden selves - those parts that ultimately make us whole. Pulitzer Prize and NY Times bestselling author Jane Smiley contributes the foreword, offering her insight into her life-long relationship with horses and the moments of unity we yearn for and sometimes capture. Just as we ride through life collecting bits and pieces of ourselves, this collection of stories offers a journey through the horse lives of so many wonderfully gifted writers. Animals can endear themselves to almost anyone’s heart, but horses - and specifically the bond these women share with their majestic creatures - tell a special story.
Why We Ride sales have already done quite well, having gone into a second printing prior to the release date! Amazing! Thank you, readers! More great news to share soon…
In Why We Ride, educator, literary agent, author, and editor, Verna Dreisbach offers readers twenty-seven personal, heart-felt stories by women whose horses have been a catalyst of personal exploration—each horse providing insight, revealing their hidden selves - those parts that ultimately make us whole. Pulitzer Prize and NY Times bestselling author Jane Smiley contributes the foreword, offering her insight into her life-long relationship with horses and the moments of unity we yearn for and sometimes capture. Just as we ride through life collecting bits and pieces of ourselves, this collection of stories offers a journey through the horse lives of so many wonderfully gifted writers. Animals can endear themselves to almost anyone’s heart, but horses - and specifically the bond these women share with their majestic creatures - tell a special story.
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