Wild Horses of the Summer Sun: A Memoir of Iceland

"When you've got friendship, a must-see global destination,and wild horses, what more is there to ask for? When Tory Bilski first traveledto Reykjavik, Iceland, she was a stranger to the women she gathered with there.Now, that journey is an annual event -- as she and her fellow female travelerstake a respite from their regular lives to live on a horse farm at the top ofthe world. Wild Horses of the Summer Sun is the story of not only how and whythese women continue to come together, but also what they leave behind." ~ Bustle "Debut author Bilski weaves a narrative of horses andfriendship in windswept Iceland in this transportive memoir... In an episodic, straightforward narrative,Bilski shares moments of life on the farm, including horse husbandry ("this isan equine love story and we all go gushy") and being dive-bombed by Arcticterns intent on keeping her away from their nests. Each year in June, the womenleft behind worries about finances, health scares, children, and parents indeclining health for a month of riding along weather-beaten trails in Iceland'snear-constant daylight, where "I am peacefully alone and temporarily lost." In2015, Helga, the farm's owner, announces that she has sold the farm, but Bilskiand three of the women travel back for one last nostalgic look at the farm andstay at another horse ranch--but it's not the same, and it's unclear whetherthey'll return to Iceland. Those with adventurous spirits and healthy amountsof wanderlust will devour this charming memoir." ~ Publishers Weekly "Bilski is undoubtedly enamored of the horses, a breed protected by law in Iceland for more than a thousand years, closely watching their actions and recounting their travels together with an almost mystical admiration. But she also closely observes her travel companions, these women with travails both everyday and extraordinary, whose adventures form the core of this rapturous travelogue." ~ Booklist "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 It made me want to take my turn there!"~ Wendy Williams , author of "The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion" "One of the Best Books for Travel Inspiration in 2020" ~ Travel + Leisure "Wild Horses of the Summer Sun"" is a well-crafted odyssey. The book brims with Icelandic horses, foreign travel exploration and the human (and herd) dynamic of a group of women who crave to "go Iceland' year after year.... The literary craft glitters" ~ Horse Nation I began thinking about writing down my Iceland experiences in the summer of 2012. I was sick that year and could not make my annual trip to Iceland. I was extremely disappointed and pined for the place. Out of that longing, I started writing down some of the more amusing travel tales about our group in Iceland, our adventures and misadventures. I decided I would start a blog as a way of sharing these stories with friends. After a while, I opened it up to the public and people from all over the world responded. They related to the major themes of the blog: the beauty of Iceland, the horses, and traveling with friends. But many women also expressed how they used to ride when they were young girls and they remembered the sense of freedom it gave them. Most of these conversations were from Euro/Western countries, but many were also from non-western countries. It struck me that the language and love of horses, and the remembered freedom, was universal. Tory Bilski started the blog Icelandica.net in late November 2012 after more than a decade of traveling to Iceland. Recently, she has written for Atlas Obscura, Roads & Kingdoms, Hartford Courant, and Iceland Review. She has had short stories published in The Kenyon Review, Black Warrior Review (where it was nominated for a Pushcart), 13th Moon (where it was anthologized), and other literary magazines. She has a B.A. from Oswego State, and a M.A.L.S. from Wesleyan University. She works at Yale University and lives near New Haven, Connecticut, with her family. Read more