How writing Cowgirl helped me deal with loss.

I wrote The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon standing up at my breakfast bar. A tingling sensation in my lower back had turned into a debilitating condition brought on by a herniated disc that brought me to my knees and would not allow me to sit.  For six weeks I wore knee pads to crawl from my bed to the refrigerator and took my meals lying on my belly. This injury forced me to give up the riding world that I loved.  At that time, I was busy fulfilling my dream of competing in the jumping arena and doing three-day events with my headstrong little mare. She was my best friend and we had many wonderful adventures together. One of my favorites was rising at dawn on Easter morning and galloping across the top of ridge beneath pearly skies.  I can still feel the joyous sensation of being one with her powerful body—heartbeat to heartbeat.

My way of dealing with the terrible loss I felt was to write this story. Gemcie’s world is turned upside down when she is injured while jumping her horse. She loses everything and needs to be alone to sort out what has happened. She turns inward on a solo horse trek in the high Sierra’s that John Muir loved so well. This opens the door to a whole new world for her that helps her connect with what is most important to her.

Adventure-travel writer, Linda Ballou, has a host of travel articles on her site, along with information about her travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales, her historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice from Old Hawai’i and her latest action-adventure novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.  Subscribe to my blog www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com and receive updates on her books, and travel destinations.