A prairie classic, Gully Farm is a vivid account of settling the western frontier, as seen through the eyes of young Mary Pinder when she accompanied her family to the Canadian Prairies. At turns funny, tragic, and enlightening, this wonderful true story of homesteading tells of one family's struggle to survive and prosper in a physical climate so alien to what they had known at home. Like many of the Barr colonists, the Pinders came close to starving that first year. They battled mosquitoes, blizzards, and prairie fires. But perhaps even worse were struggles with loneliness and homesickness.
Mary's narrative is an honest portrayal of the stern realities her family faced when they made the decision to leave all that was familiar to them in England and set out for a new life in "the promised land."
If there is one story that best describes the homesteading experience this is it. Readers will enjoy the rich details and vivid memories of those early years, when the world came to the Prairies for a new start in the land of earth and sky.

Mary Hiemstra is a Fifth House Books author.

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