Wild Horses of the Summer Sun: Iceland, freedom and the gift of female friendship

Description

'Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us.' Virginia Woolf What if you could steal time out just for yourself each year, a brief reprieve from ordinary life and its responsibilities? Wild Horses of the Summer Sun is author Tory Bilski's witty, sometimes poignant, account of her annual 'horse sabbaticals' to Iceland. She and her travelling companions exhilarate in their freedom, the spectacular scenery, the midnight sun energy and the Icelandic horses that connect deeply to the soul. Each year brings a new discovery about Iceland, about herself and about her relationships with the other women who revel in the freedom to be their most 'ridiculous selves'. Over the years, their friendships deepen as they grow older together, whilst keeping each other young. I am wildly free, giddily so, the long-forgotten impulses of my youth awakening and leaving my heart in flight mode ... We are what we venture.

Tory Bilski started the blog icelandica.net in late November 2012 after more than a decade of travelling to Iceland. Her short stories have been published in The Kenyon Review, Black Warrior Review, 13th Moon and other literary magazines. She has also received a Pushcart Prize nomination and an Honorable Mention from 92nd Street Y for her short stories. She works at Yale University and lives near New Haven, Connecticut, with her family.

"This charming saga of Icelandic cross-country riding has a little of everything -- wild tales of mad gallops, centuries of the island's history and personal stories of redemption and revitalization. Made me want to take my turn there!" ~ Wendy Williams, author of The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion