Bitches Ride Alone

Stories by Laura Chester.

In this remarkable one-year journal, skilled horsewoman and adventurer Laura Chester brings us into her world, where we deeply connect with the earth and its seasons, with beauty and sometimes danger. While riding in places as far-reaching as Mexico, Australia, and India, Chester is always grateful to come home to the comforts of her familiar horse. As they cover the borderland of Arizona and the hills of Massachusetts, we get to know Barranca as intimate companion, mediator between soul and nature, whether entering the wilds of Cochise Stronghold or picking Berkshire apples from the saddle. Carried along on waves of memory, released by the gaits of her smooth-moving fox trotter, this literary memoir takes us on a personal exploration as well—where family relationships are fractured by anger, jealousy, illness, and death. With the help of her big-hearted animal, Chester is able to retrieve the past and find forgiveness. For as she says—"Riding Barranca puts me in the moment, which is where I want to live."

The literary history behind this beautiful mountain region. The Massachusetts Berkshires have long been a mecca for literary greats, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edith Wharton to Sinclair Lewis and Joan Ackermann. The Green River in Great Barrington inspired William Cullen Bryant’s poetry. Charles Pierce Burton’s childhood hometown, Adams, became the setting for his frolicking Boys of Bob’s Hill children’s books. During an interlude in Lenox, Patricia Highsmith consulted a local undertaker for details to use in The Talented Mr. Ripley. In this book, Bernard A. Drew brings together a fascinating chronicle of some 250 wordsmiths who took inspiration from the hills and valleys of the Berkshires.

"Holy Personal" begins with the design and construction of the author's own private chapel and activities that compelled her to set forth on a pilgrimage to 28 other private places of worship--temples, chapels, stupas and shrines. DeMari's luminous photos reveal the personal and private nature of these unique places. 100 photos, 60 in color.

Poetry. Photography. SPARKS marks the second collaboration (after Holy Personal) of author Laura Chester and photographer Donna DeMari. Here, prose poetry and sepia-toned photographs combine to tell a story. "THE SPARK SO quickly becomes the fire becomes you. Your face is shining with the light all around, like a mane. Aura, luster, a polished egg"-from Part One. Laura Chester has written many books of poetry and prose, including FREE REIN, ALL IN ALL, and MY PLEASURE, all available at SPD.

This road to love may have a few speed bumps. Former hot mess Jolene Baxter is committed to doing better. It’s why she offered to help her sister and brother-in-law move across the country. However, her goodwill is tested when last-minute changes—mainly her father ditching her for an all-expenses-paid vacation—forces her to make the journey with a man who is the human version of a pebble in her shoe. Jason Akana operates on lists and bitter coffee, but none of those things will help him on a sixteen-hour trip with the most infuriating woman. Maybe they can get along and forget their heated confrontation five years ago at his best friend’s wedding…when pigs fly. But the addition of vehicle problems, an unplanned pit stop in a small town, and chemistry that inconveniently tags along shifts their perspectives. And once the dust settles after their trip, a tentative friendship emerges. Will these two stubborn people successfully navigate the unexpected feelings that follow close behind? Or will they hit a roadblock before reaching happily ever after?