THE INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Hello, I’m Dianna Rostad. I’m going to share with you the history and inspiration for my novel: You Belong Here Now. You’ll learn about the orphan trains, life in 1920s Montana, and wild horses. But first, let me tell you what my story is about: In 1925, three brave kids from New York board the orphan train headed west. An Irish boy who lost his whole family to Spanish flu, a tiny girl who won’t talk, and a volatile young man who desperately needs to escape Hell’s Kitchen. These kids are paraded on platforms across the Midwest to work-worn folks and journey countless miles, racing the sun westward. Before they reach the last rejection and stop, the kids come up with a daring plan, and set off toward the Yellowstone River and grassy mountains where the wild horses roam. Fate guides them toward the ranch of a family stricken by loss, but the children are unable to outrun their dark pasts in New York, and to save them, the family must do the unthinkable. When I first discovered the history of the orphan trains, I felt a special kinship to the street kids from 1920s New York. You see, after the riots in the 1990s, I worked with a similar group of kids. So, when I saw the pictures of these 38 OCTOBER 2021
