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Check out the connections to my writer friends. Here’s a book review for one of Diane Maccani’s horse novels.

Shattered Dreams tells the story of two lives limping along following a bad truck accident. This novel by Diane Maccani shows how Wade Hollis’s injuries caused more damage than just broken bones. As a single dad, his teenage daughter Alison is the only one who can humor his dark moods following the accident. Wade has a feedlot to run in Colorado. While he’s crippled up and healing, Ali, a responsible teenager, helps with the work as much as she can. much of the work falls on Ali’s shoulders. During her dad’s convalesence, Ali realizes that summer was to be the summer she embarked on a dream she and her deceased mother had planned. Her dream of barrel racing and queen contests are overshadowed by her dad’s recovery. Ali dreamed of hitting the rodeo circuit that year where she’d start barrel racing her mare Bonda. At fifteen years old she can’t drive herself, and with her father so banged up, extra money has to go out for hired help to work the cattle. There’s only so much Ali can do to run the ranch and household.

Sara Murray enters their lives as Wade’s physical therapist. Although one of the youngest members on the staff, Sara’s supervisor chose her as Wade’s therapist because he felt she might have a connection through her horses with Wade. The young woman, although still “green” in working as a therapist, is assigned to work with Wade. How did that come about when there are other therapists with far more experience? It’s her attitude and the fact that she owns horses. When Sarah’s horses end up boarding at Hollis’s ranch, Sarah has the opportunity to help Ali relalize her ‘shattered dreams’ of barrel racing and queen contests. To give her two show horses a change of outlook, Sara moves them to the ranch so she can work them on the feedlot cattle. The board she’ll pay will also help out Wade and Ali with the bills.  There’s a great deal more to the story….you’ll have to read it to find out.

This is one of the novels in Diane Maccani’s series What the Cowgirls Do. To purchase the book contact her at http://tamarackfarmpublishing.homestead.com/      906-663-4782     email: tfqh51@yahoo.com

I can vouch for her personally.—Robin Moore

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