Gathering from the Grassland

by Linda Hasselstrom

Nature writer, poet, and longtime leader in land steward­ship, Linda M. Hasselstrom examines several generations of family diaries searching for an understanding of her ancestors and for direction in planning for the future of the plains ranch which has been in the family for over a century. Moving through the days of a year, she is never afraid to show the reader the most difficult thing of all the truth of her life. The portrait that emerges is of a woman who makes peace with life s complexities and finds joy in honoring the plains and its people and animals. Ever the nature writer at heart, Hasselstrom crafts miniature essays on plains animals including antelope, owls, badgers, snakes, buffalo, and cattle. She also delves into rural community dynamics, death and aging, family, and the work of a writer.

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Linda M. Hasselstrom is an award-winning poet and writer of the High Plains whose work is rooted in the arid landscape of southwestern South Dakota. She writes, ranches, and conducts writing retreats on the South Dakota ranch homesteaded by her grandfather, a Swedish cobbler, in 1899. Her website, www.windbreakhouse.com, provides details about her published poetry and nonfiction; contact her at info@windbreakhouse.com
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Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps it's living in Colorado or having recently visited South Dakota or needing some calm in the midst of chaos...whatever the reason, I thoroughly enjoyed Gathering from the Grassland. With the author sharing some of her journal entries and those of her parents, she provides a glimpse into lives that are at one with nature. You can hear the howls of coyotes, see the pasture lands in all seasons, and feel the low gray clouds that precede a blizzard in South Dakota. Along with splendid portraits of nature, she also thoughtfully portrays human nature and the related sunshine and storms that accompany family relationships and societal "progress." It was a book I looked forward to retreating to each evening and was my warm blanket for a chilly time in our current world.

[Art Elser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just starting July in my "signed" copy of Gathering, having finished half a year's entries. Wonderful book and a great view into life on a SD ranch, the coyotes, cattle, herons, red-winged blackbirds, the grasslands and the people who live at and around the ranch. Some beautiful passages about ranch people helping each other, helping take care of their cattle, fences, lives, and how the people who have migrated into new developments have such different takes on life. An intelligent view of the soft, and sometimes not so soft, clash of these cultures.

In Gathering, Hasselstrom also delves into the lives of her departed parents through reading their journals, matching their experiences with her own as she also reads through her journal entries for the same events. She comes to discover not only who her parents were and why they acted as she perceived them to, but also how and why she acted as she did then and how that may well have affected both how her parents reacted to her and how she perceived it.

I'd recommend Gathering to anyone who is interested in nature and humanity. I'm learning about myself and perhaps even viewing my parents differently, although they kept no journals for me to read. But Hasselstrom's clear-sighted view into her own life helps me better understand my own.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hasselstrom's latest book echoes her previous work, Windbreak. In this book and others, she is at her best when describing the seasons, grasses, animals, and other plants in western South Dakota. The journal format is well chosen. It sets off her recollections of daily and seasonal life on her ranch. This journal, like others, would not be complete without a look at the family relationships that have shaped her life on this piece of land. She doesn't hesitate to look deeply into family journals and records. She weaves family and landscape into a good story to read on a winter (or any other) day.

[John Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book written in journal form explores both Linda Hasselstrom's life on her South Dakota ranch and the lives of her parents' through their journals and her changing relationship with them. I really changed enjoyed this book, as I have many of her others from the 1980s and 1990s and her exploration of family relations and history through journals. As someone who writes in his journal daily, it was neat to have a book that explores their importance in understanding different lives.

[Julie Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful journey with Linda Hasselstrom in the grasslands and a ranch in the prairies of South Dakota. As a reader, I loved following the journal style, learning about places, animals, trees, birds, people, ranching, writing, and weather—often some of each on every page. Linda’s style is charming and also filled with depth of feeling and affection for her surroundings. The history of her family is heart-breaking, but her strength in dealing with the grief is illuminating and encouraging.