My Life at Sweetbrier shares your experiences growing up on the Sweetbrier horse farm in Easton, Connecticut and conveys all the obstacles and emotions of that time. Why was this an important book for you to write?

In My Life at Sweetbrier, I wanted to convey the importance of perseverance in life. I firmly believe young readers would benefit from this story because it shows that determination can change the direction of your life. Also, many people have a negative attitude about things and they may be deterred from following their dreams if other people discourage them. But I’d like children to know that you can succeed against the odds if you refuse to give up on your dreams. Imagine what I would have missed if I didn’t pursue mine.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?

It was difficult to write about the fire in our barn that killed two of the horses. One of those was my mom’s beautiful, talented, Arabian stallion, Chiefie. Mom adored him. They had a rare connection and I was so hard for her to carry on without him. As always, she was a role model for her courage. Also as a family, we had to choose whether or not to rebuild our barn The fire showed us that we must carry on after a tragedy.

What is one memory that this book has helped you to remember?

My Life at Sweetbrier helped me recall how thrilled and blessed I am to have Peach, my remarkable horse who helped us become champions together. We had the kind of connection that Mom had with Chiefie. Peach understood me and seemed to be so sensitive to the pressure of my legs when I wanted her to lengthen her stride before a jump. She was beautiful and gifted at jumping. Peach loved jumping and that’s the reason she never grew tired of it, even when my sisters and I shared her at shows. Other horses were dragging themselves around the course by the end of the day, while she was still shaking her head and playing around. We won first place in our debut show together. As you can imagine, I was elated.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

I hope readers remember to always follow their dreams because they may accomplish much more than they imagine if they refuse to quit. Every person has bad days and fails from time to time. Even champions experience days when things do not go well. But every winner knows it’s what happens after your fall that matters.

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