"A collection of true stories by women who do a variety of outdoor jobs, from smoke jumping to biology, river running to professional falconry, horse packing to atmospheric science, and more"--Provided by publisher.

Life is like a bus ride, people get on and off the bus throughout your life, some stay the whole journey and some just stay a short distance. Unfortunately, the first people to get off my bus were my parents! And I was only five! So my troubles in life started with abandonment, and then built up after a series of events which caused me to fall short on being a model student, an achiever, or an academic. Yet, somehow, I shone through and became an overseas resort controller for UK’s second largest tour operator by being reasonably competent in four languages. I spent 11 years abroad running away from family tragedies and the decline of our family. Then therapy, my saviour, with all of its revelations. The therapist knew what my troubles were before I met her, from my medical records. My story is a prime example of how uncaring parents can mess up a child’s life and how the effect can stay with the child for life. I am 63 now and still have to switch the TV over if there is any interaction between father and son. It’s a bumpy ride, readers! But I am sure you will find it an enjoyable one.

Tiphani is the oldest of four and she has not had the best life growing up. Her father in in prison, her step-father died in a tragic accident and her family is dirt poor. For the past four years Tiphani has kept her head down and worked hard to make a future for herself. She knows that college is her only way out and she will do whatever it takes to get there. A boyfriend was not part of the plan though. Could this guy really be interested in a girl like Tiphani or is this just another trick so the popular kids have more to laugh about?

Nestled comfortably in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains is the small town of Oil City, Pennsylvania. It is a town rich in tradition and is a quiet little community in which to grow up. Im just a normal everyday guy like the next person; however I have had a rather interesting upbringing. Within these pages I would like to open up about that upbringing and allow you a peek into who I am and where Im from. Every one of us has a story to tell so here is mine. I hope you enjoy it.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters comes a delightfully entertaining story about a ruse that goes awry and a chaotic homecoming that proves that confronting your past can sometimes set you free. Sometimes you have to go big to go home. Rhett Gallagher’s adventurous life is imploding. Just as she turns the big 4-0, her long-term relationship collapses and her gran’s death draws her back to the family farm. The only silver lining is that Rhett’s inspirational book, The Modern Pioneer Girl’s Guide to Life—written under a pseudonym—has become a wild success, so much so that when her big publicity moment comes, self-doubting Rhett panics and persuades her best friend, Jasmine, to step into the limelight in her stead. But their prank turns into something more when the controlling mother Rhett hasn’t seen in two decades announces her intent to sell the farm Rhett loves and expected to make her own. To save her inheritance—and her identity—Rhett must concoct a scheme that will protect her home and finally prove to her mother, and to herself, that she can stand on her own two feet.