THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF RACHEL DUPREE

Worn down by a months-long drought in the early 1900s, Rachel DuPree looks back on her fourteen-year marriage to an ex-Buffalo soldier and their life homesteading in the Badlands. Through Myra Lucretia Taylor's expressive reading, listeners befriend Rachel, rooting for her as she makes plans to marry Isaac and leave her job at a Chicago boardinghouse, sympathizing as she adjusts to ranch life, worrying with her as she contemplates her children's bleak futures on the prairie, and commiserating with her as she becomes ever more frustrated with the rainless summer. Now pregnant for the eighth time, Rachel finally finds the isolation, never-ending labor, and emotional toll of ranching overwhelming. Listeners are fully engaged as Rachel struggles to find the right future for her and her family. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]