This is a delightful book. It takes some patience to get through the first few letters, but the reader who does so will be richly rewarded. The story is comprised of a series of letters written to a former employer and friend by a young widow who has gone to Wyoming with her toddler to homestead. She is able to successfully build up a ranch in what we would consider challenging circumstances. Along the way she marries and has 3 little boys, the first of whom dies in infancy. She joyfully records the events of her days, not considering as hardship the life she has chosen on the frontier. Instead, she revels in the natural beauty of her surroundings and in the friendships forged with like-minded independent women from her far-flung frontier community. She and her closest friends live unselfishly, lavishing loving kindness in words and deeds on those less fortunate than themselves, always ready to face the unexpected with courage and good humor. These letters depict extravagant hospitality (think impromptu weddings, spur of the moment feasts for strangers, and designing and sewing wardrobes for a whole family in need within just a few days time) and happiness derived from a deep gratitude for life's smallest blessings and pleasure in the service to others.