NUMEROUS LIVES, THREATENED BY OPPOSITION, FUELED BY JEALOUSY, PROTECTED BY PASSION
Thank you, Dr. Shawn Brigman, for allowing me the use of your tule-mat lodge for the cover of Heart of Passion. To read more about Dr. Brigman and his work click here: https://carmenpeone.com/an-interview-with-dr-shawn-brigman/ Tule-mat lodge by Dr. Shawn Brigman, Photo by Carmen Peone.
To view Heart of Passion's Curriculum click here.
Spupaleena’s equine journey lingers as the Sinyekst teen continues to fight for her passion to raise and train racehorses. Yet she takes her dream a step further, hoping to breed her stallions to the Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Colvile’s mares and sell a few foals along the way.
Her father persists to thrust her toward expected cultural behaviors. But she has other plans. And they do not include a husband. Nor a fellow racer bent on making sure she does not race, no matter the cost.
Elizabeth Gardner remains torn between discouraging Spupaleena from the dangers of horse racing and encouraging her friend’s vision. To make matters worse, the woman has her hands full wrangling an infant, a toddler, and her five-year-old daughter who wants to race, “Just like Auntie Spuppy!”
When disaster strikes, terror shifts into courage, heartache melds into forgiveness, calamity slips into hope, and one young woman learns the true meaning of family. This story from award-winning author Carmen Peone will tug your heartstrings as you gallop the rugged trails along the Columbia River into uncalculated Indian Country
Set locally at the Columbia River and the Kettle Falls, Peone’s powerful descriptions of landscape and life cause the reader to experience the story in every way. One can feel the cold, the hard ground, the thrill and the agonies of horse racing, the fury of a poor loser. The tenderness between brother and sister, tension between father and daughter and the fierce bond between a girl and her horses are palpable. Characters wrestle with issues of willfulness, pride and desires for winning, ultimately learning some lessons about faith and forgiveness. Carmen Peone’s own passion for horses and her spiritual beliefs give the story a strong authenticity; she truly has Indian culture and storytelling in her soul.
—Peggy Mandin, Kettle Falls Focus
