Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country

by Linda M. Lockwood

For fans of Tara Westover’s Educated and Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky comes a memoir about a girl’s isolated ranch childhood—and her adulthood journey to overcome grief and fear and discover the truth about her mother’s mental illness.

At the age of eight, Linda Lockwood moves with her family to an isolated ranch in eastern Washington State. Within two years, she’s patrolling the ranch on horseback alongside her border collie—herding sheep, killing rattlesnakes, and defending the ranch’s livestock from coyotes, bears, and even trespassing hunters—and working tirelessly to realize her dream of training horses. But her most daunting challenge is one hard work can’t her mother is descending into madness. And Linda’s deepest fear is that she might inherit the schizophrenia that threatens to dismantle her family.

At age twenty-five, Linda marries, but the joy of her first pregnancy is darkened by her mother’s suicide. Then she endures a painful miscarriage and the death of her beloved grandmother, traumatic events that send her back in time to the births and deaths of animals—domesticated and wild—that she loved in childhood. Eventually, her own family grows, but her happiness is haunted by questions people have tiptoed around all her life. How did her mother become schizophrenic? What did she endure as a patient in 1960s mental hospitals? Might Linda and even her children be next to battle that catastrophic mental disorder? Driven by the courage and will she sharpened as a rancher, Linda vows to find out.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2024

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy from BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a well written memoir that is tough to read at time because of animal abuse. But the animals made such a huge impact on Linda growing up. I feel like I would've been friends with her at that age.
The battles her mom went through with her mental illness would have been difficult to understand as a child so I am glad she was able to better understand as an adult after she got her mom's medical records.
The ranch life aspect was interesting to read about as well.

[Julene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country by Linda M. Lockwood is a memoir about her childhood growing up on a ranch in Eastern Washington. When I went to her reading and talked with her, she said the book was about her ranch stories, but reading the book we learn about her mother who she eventually learns had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. At the end of the book she is able to get her mother's records from her institutionalizations and she sorts through for answers to questions that were not answered in her childhood. She writes with great compassion for her mother, who took her life with a gun, but it was labeled an accident. She was plagued with guilt for not telling her mother she was pregnant, thinking that might have given her mother a reason to live.

Her older brother was brutal to her growing up. She was alone in a rural environment living with a mother who fed her well, despite their poverty, but who couldn't help her with her physcial needs, and a brother who made her life harder. Their father worked spraying crops from an airplane and he was often away for long periods. She resolved with her brother by talking with him about his brutality when they were adults, his memories did not reflect hers.

She is tormented by certain things she could have done different with her aunt who died after a second heart attack. Her aunt moved in with them several times to help and was the main person who showed her warmth and was there when she needed medical help. Her mother was fearful of doctors. When her aunt was dying and tried to tell her she was ready to die she didn't understand, she left her expecting to see her again. When she got the call her aunt had died she realized her mistake in the moment and regretted not telling her how much she loved and appreciated all the things she helped her with.

It's a sad memoir but shows joy in her love of horses and her development into a mature woman who has a successful life today. There were three physical emergencies that she needed help with in the book and it took her a long time to realize she didn't have the support she needed, despite the constant proof. I found this frustrating, but overall it is an excellent book, a bit long at almost 300 pages.

[Jodell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: animal abuse triggers

In this world it is acceptable to have a physical illness and get pain medication, surgery, or antibiotics because illness equals pain. But not as acceptable is complicated mental illness or psychic pain.
This is a story of a girl who had a mother with a mental illness. But in the 1940s through to 1960s it was not talked about. It was hush hush. Not only did this poor mother suffer so did her daughter. Like the author stated it was a perfect storm for her mother: mental illness, living in isolation, a deteriorating marriage, an absence of community care providers, a family unable to understand and support the wife and mother who was mentally suffering. How very sad.

In the 1960 and 1970s it was not much better. It still was not something you sat around the dinner table and talked about, and no one did anything but say "that person, or aunt, or grandparent or sibling or mother is crazy". They didn't try to have empathy or try to understand the mental illness itself, and they just felt shame. They did not speak of it but in hushed whispers.

The children who grow up with parents or siblings with mental illness don't understand what is going on. They feel resentment, scared when there is a episode, confused and it affects their sense of security, The child feels like they have to be good and not make trouble because they can't rely on the mentally ill person for emotional support or to be guided. The parent is not emotionally equipped to take care of their child, but their child is expected to take care of and watch over the mentally ill parent or sibling and be responsible for their parent or relative. The emotional load is too heavy for a child. Children like this grow up and bond with animals as a tool to bond and get affection that they lack from the parent. They feel they don't deserve love and try to give and take care of everyone as to prove they are worthy. They self-preserve by trying to control their little world so nothing bad can go wrong.

Now here we are in 2025, and many things have changed and there are better treatments and help available, but I still feel there is a stigma towards mental illness. People still don't like to talk about that one family member who may have bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety or whatever they may have and its more common to talk about Their heart attack, or diabetes, or torn ligament or broken bone. How very sad. So many people are misunderstood and very alone in their mental illness.
As for this book I feel terrible for the mother and daughter and I'm angry at the father who just left the ranch for months at a time while his wife went through her mental illness basically alone and scared. He was not equipped to deal with it, so he left it all up to his mother and children to take care of their mentally ill parent The children didn't understand exactly what was wrong with their mother because it was not spoken about or explained. Everyone suffered.

Even with times being different there will always be stigma and judgment for people who have mental illness. They didn't ask for it. They don't know why they were chosen to have it. Yet they suffer as do their loved ones. It was not an easy book, and the last quarter of the book was my favorite part because the daughter honored her mother by taking the time to learn about what happened to her mom and what illness she had, find her mother's records from the 1940s through the 1960s in the year 2017 and try to understand her mother. At last. The touched me in the deepest well of my being to see that she loved and honored her mother despite all the trauma she went through. Accepted her and persevered.

My mother suffered mental illness, and I still honor her and her attempt to try and raise two small children on her own while not understanding her own mental illness. Plus no one in her family understanding it either. She didn't seek treatment or talk about it. But we all suffered. I used to read book after book and try to guess what was wrong with her and it gave me more questions than answers. I guess I'll never know her diagnosis and it doesn't even matter anymore to me to put a label on it. It only matters we loved each other regardless. I'm not saying it was easy to love her at her worst but who else did I have?

[Feathered Quill Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Linda receives devastating news that her mother is dead, she must return to her childhood home of Okanogan, Washington to console her father. This challenge sets her on a journey to piece together memories of her mother, a ranchwoman who was a poet, homemaker, gardener, mistreated wife, sheepherder, baker, and more; sadly, she also suffered mental illness. The narrator of this memoir entitled Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country grieves and agonizes—if only she had shared the news with her mother that she was pregnant, would that have saved her?

Her quandary sparks reflection back to childhood memories of living and working on Sky Ranch. This gripping memoir traverses sheep meadows, wheat fields, livestock auctions, foal births, county fairs, and high-speed horse riding amidst the pristine foothills of the Chiliwist Valley. It features a real-life cowgirl coming of age.

Lockwood’s memories reach all the way back to age three when her father told her she was too big to sit on his lap. By age eight, she was carrying heavy buckets of saw dust to fill the hopper to keep a basement furnace going all night, as a means to stay warm in winter on the isolated ranch. Farm work never ended, and this powerful book reveals the grit needed for mucking out the sheep’s pen or picking rocks out of fields of wheat in July heat.

Fixing fences, herding sheep, growing wheat, caring for dogs with rattle snake bites, playing the role of Nurse Kelly in a play mocking mental illness: through it all, the narrator’s older brother, Billy, bullies her incessantly about being ugly, scared, or sensitive. From her kind but stern father’s perspective, money struggles are real: when they can’t afford ten puppies, some need to be thrown in a sack and drowned. When they can’t afford to keep a pet rabbit, and she is fat enough, it’s time to eat her.

When late January temperatures fall to zero and the ewes start to have lambs, Linda, Billy, and Mom must go out in the middle of the night to move the wet newborn lambs to warmth before they freeze. In spring, Dad flies planes over fields to spray the wheat with hormones to keep pests away. Every detail feels urgent and significant in piecing together what went wrong with Linda’s mother, Zelma.

However, not all the vivid scenes of farm life involve tough labor; there are moments of lambs playing king of the hill in the snow while Linda and Billy make snow angels with their grandmother, as well as heartwarming moments, when Mom and Linda save a newborn “bummer” lamb that had been rejected by its mother. In this humane and gentle moment in the depths of winter, the narrator perceives her mother has some kind of magic and wants to grow up to be just like her—there is nothing her mother could not do. So, a reader starts to wonder: what contributed to her suffering with mental illness?

When Linda is nine years old, the family buys its first Arabian half thoroughbred, Red Pepper, a horse with a reputation of bucking dudes; nonetheless, the narrator is determined to learn to ride her. The horse did throw Linda a few times, but when her father could afford a Western saddle from a tack store, on credit, she stayed on in the new saddle and then galloped the horse with pride and elation. A reader starts to notice that the narrator’s love for and relationship to animals is more detailed and drawn out than her relationship with her mother. Lockwood deftly intersperses her narrative with poetry and prose that her mother wrote, revealing that her mother had a gift that went disregarded.

Lockwood writes with impressive agility, lively and vivid details, emotional intelligence, and a musical ear for beautiful sentences. Her story moves forward at a trot, reading like a horse ride through a shepherd girls’ invigorating childhood. Linda goes through high school ashamed of her mother’s illness. It is not only nature lovers and horse lovers who must read this book. Additionally, this vivid and compassionate story gives insights into factors that contribute to what is traditionally called mental illness.

Quill says: Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country navigates the rich emotional spectrum of joys and hardships of farm life while confronting the tragic consequences of schizophrenia.

[Sophia Kouidou-Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Sky Rach, Linda M. Lockwood invites readers into the rugged, beautiful Okanagan of Washington State, where her childhood unfolded under the wide skies and heavy shadows of a family secret, her mother’s schizophrenia. The ranch is more than a setting; it is the bedrock of her resilience. With vivid detail, Lockwood describes the endless tasks of ranch life: herding sheep, caring for horses, and shouldering adult responsibilities far too young, all while longing for the warmth of a mother who was often emotionally absent or institutionalized.
What makes this memoir especially poignant is Lockwood’s unwavering honesty. She does not shy away from the raw realities of her mother’s suicide, the pain of loss—Gram’s and her father’s death, a miscarriage—not the bittersweet milestones, like finally holding her own child. Woven throughout are her mother’s poems, lovingly preserved within the narrative, offering glimpses of the woman behind the illness and adding a lyrical tenderness to the family struggles.
Lockwood’s account is both a tribute and a reckoning. She unpacks the stigma and silence surrounding mental illness in earlier decades, piecing together the truth her family kept hidden for so long. In doing so, she shows how understanding and compassion can transform inherited pain into hard won wisdom. A must read!

[Dawn Filos Mauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book.
It was so well written... a self-reflective memoir, allowing the reader to feel and experience the beauty of Sky Rance, and relive the author's childhood experiences. It was particularly effective how she first wrote abutter interpretation of her mother's actions and words, and then later is able to understand and explain them to herself, as well as the reader, with the aid of her mother's medical records and friend. It helps to illuminate the effects of mental illness on a family.

As a veterinarian, I appreciate the emotional an d psychological support animals can bring to pet caregivers. Linda's horses served that purpose in her life. This story is one of overcoming adversity, and is written clearly, elegantly, and with introspection.

How brave of the author to bear her should in this book. I am sure it will help those who lived with similar experiences. They will see they are not alone, and will be inspired to see Linda come through the other side, after a long, revealing and sometimes painful journey.

A wonderful, well-written, honest glimpse into a family and their extraordinary story.

[Patricia Grayhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1954, eight-year-old Linda Lockwood and family moves to an isolated ranch in Washington State; by age ten, Linda is riding horses and herding sheep. She works tirelessly to defend the ranch’s livestock from predators and to realize her dream of raising and training horses.
But her unpredictable mother’s descent into madness complicates her life. Her mother’s suicide when Linda is in her mid-twenties launches Linda on a quest to unearth secrets hidden from her in childhood.
With a backdrop of vividly portrayed ranch life, (Title) gives the reader visceral insight into what it is like for a child and a family when a parent is mentally ill and cannot or will not get the care they need—a problem as relevant today as it was decades ago. This book is an absorbing and insightful read, a must for any family touched by mental illness.

[Karen Solt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to put into words how much this memoir touched me. A child of a parent with deep mental illness. A child who was raised on a ranch and found solace and companionship with her horses and other animals. A child who had a tender heart and who was isolated with a lot of responsibility and the task of figuring life out without the help of available parents and a brother who bullied her. Out of ALL OF THAT, Linda Lockwood emerged with a compassion for her family and especially her mother's struggles. Out of ALL OF THAT, she raised her own family and put the pieces of her younger self back together. She has really used her experiences to share something magical with Sky Ranch. A beautiful book, it is highly comparable to Educated, by Tara Westover (another one of my favorite books). If I could give it six stars, I certainly would.

[Nan Pokerwinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An isolated setting, a childhood overshadowed by a mother’s mental illness—this could have been a difficult, depressing read. But Lockwood’s extraordinary prose makes for a riveting, can’t-put-down account of sheep herding and exploring the vast ranch on horseback.

Tasked with adult ranch responsibilities from the age of 10, Lockwood developed a strong work ethic that stuck with her into adulthood. Likewise, her encounters with rattlesnakes, falls from skittish horses, and other daunting difficulties instilled in her courage and resilience that would see her through a multitude of life challenges, including her mother’s schizophrenia and eventual suicide.

This book immersed me in the realities of ranch life—both gritty and exhilarating—a world I’d known only from movies and my own girlhood fantasies.

Highly recommended.

[Amanda Oconnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished reading Sky Ranch, and I must say that it was fantastic. I was captivated by Linda's story. I could picture the hills, the sheep, and even the subtle threats like coyotes and rattlesnakes because of how vividly she portrays ranch life. Her candor regarding her mother's illness and how silence affected her upbringing, however, is what most stuck with me.

Although the subject matter of the book is difficult, it feels significant. You leave with such admiration for the fortitude required to persevere and the bravery required to finally put everything in writing. As I turned the final page, I experienced a mixture of admiration and sadness. I will remember this memoir for a very long time.

[Ora Pickney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The balance in Sky Ranch was what I found most admirable. The idea of childhood freedom, riding horses, caring for sheep, and exploring the hills, is presented to us in an almost romantic way. Conversely, we witness the catastrophic consequences of untreated mental illness on a family.

It is remarkable how open Lockwood is about her mother's schizophrenia. Her family kept the diagnosis a secret, so she was unaware of it for decades. I believe that many readers who have gone through similar things will feel heard here, and that silence is devastating.

It is a successful memoir that raises awareness while also telling a personal story. Intimate, exquisitely written, and ultimately hopeful, it is.

[Susen Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to read an advance copy of Linda Lockwood's memoir. "Sky Ranch" vividly portrays the author’s coming of age in the rugged high country of the Pacific Northwest. The ranch is as much a character in this beautifully written memoir as Lockwood and her family. Readers immediately learn of her mother’s suicide and are then taken back in time to experience the joys and sorrows of her childhood. With enduring love, she shares her family’s struggle with her mother’s schizophrenia and her eventual understanding and compassion for what her mother endured.
--Susen Edwards, author of "What a Trip" and "Lookin’ for Love"

[Elizabeth Harlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her poignant memoir Sky Ranch, Linda Lockwood shares her remarkable journey struggling to grow up amidst the secrecy and lack of understanding that surrounded her mother's acute mental illness. Mastering demanding ranching skills and a daunting range of responsibilities that included caring for her mother in her father’s frequent absences, Lockwood ineluctably came of age as a very young child long before coming of age as the adult who sensitively explores a searingly painful life story with courage, persistence, and ultimately serenity. A tour de force of hurt and healing, I recommend Sky Ranch without reservation.
Elizabeth Harlan, author of BECOMING CARLY KLEIN

[Amanda Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible read for those who wished to be young cowgirls and those yearning to understand their childhood. This memoir takes you on the authors journey of growing up with a mother she couldn’t truly see but yearned for, with stunning memories of learning to survive on the ranch. Readers get to follow along as she becomes a young woman filled with resentment and finally an adult seeing and empathizing with her deceased mother’s experience for the first time. The last few chapters are an “ah-ha” moment for the reader, mirroring the authors experience. Expertly done and a real surprise. Highly recommend for all who are trying to find peace with their on upbringing.

[Teresa Janssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda M. Lockwood’s heartfelt memoir is a poignant tribute to the joys and hardships of a caring but troubled ranching family who must navigate the rocky terrain of mental illness. Lockwood’s prose is rich. Readers can nearly feel the silky soft coat of a foal and taste the yeasty goodness of freshly baked bread, as they are immersed in mid-twentieth century ranch life in rural Washington state. Sky Ranch is an intimate portrayal of a young woman’s vulnerability and tenacity as she comes to terms with an arduous physical and emotional upbringing. A deeply engaging and thought-provoking read.

[Retha Dietrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m 25 and don’t usually go for quiet, rural stories, but this one got under my skin. Sky Ranch isn’t about big events, it’s about emotion that builds slowly, like wind before a storm. I didn’t grow up anywhere near Montana, but I understood every word of Jennifer’s loneliness.

What hit me hardest was how she finds small pieces of peace in the middle of grief. The author never forces the emotion, it’s just there, honest and raw. You start to feel what she feels without even realizing it.

I finished this book late at night and couldn’t sleep right away. It made me want to go home, call my mom, and say thank you. That’s what a good story does, it softens you.

[Leslie Nack · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world not meant for a girl in 1950s and 1960s Okanogan County, Washington, Linda thrives and grows and learns all the skills needed to be a rancher and a cowgirl despite her mother’s mental illness and her brother’s endless bullying. She does this in our American culture that constantly diminishes what women can do. I know because my family also discounted everything I could do as a capable and world-traveled girl. Linda is a leader and has much wisdom about the world. I enjoyed SKY Ranch immensely.

[Lynne O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is honesty and grit in this gripping story about coping with life in the American West and the secrets surrounding mental illness. As a Montana rancher who has (also) dealt with a family member's mental illness, I can attest to the authenticity of what Linda describes in her own story: the daily mix of pain and tenderness, the inherent hardships and joys, and the solace of animals at the center of it all. Everything she reports in vivid details required great courage, perseverance, and compassion. This story of her life has all three in spades.

[Amber Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is a difficult read, Sky Ranch is a crucial one. The memoir combines the intensely personal struggle of living with a parent who had schizophrenia with striking scenes of ranch life in Washington. Lockwood never lets go of her love for her family, but she also does not back down from the harsh realities.

I was transported by her descriptions of the landscape, the wildlife, and the solitude. Sometimes I thought I was riding with her as a kid. Long after you put this book down, it stays with you.

[Fabiola Robel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our book club picked Sky Ranch kind of randomly, but we ended up talking about it for over an hour. It’s one of those books that starts small and then suddenly everyone has something personal to say.

Jennifer felt so real, tough, a little tired, but still hopeful. We all loved how she never plays the victim. And the Montana descriptions? Gorgeous. You can practically see the mountains and smell the sagebrush.

What I liked most was how it made me think about my own roots. We all have “our ranch,” that place or memory we can’t quite leave behind.

[Natalie Schramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been going through a rough year, and somehow this book found me when I needed it most. Sky Ranch helped me remember that healing doesn’t look dramatic—it looks like showing up every day and trying again.

Jennifer’s journey back to her family’s ranch mirrored a lot of what I’ve been feeling. The writing is gentle, and the emotions feel lived, not written. I cried more than once, but in a good way.

When I finished, I felt lighter. Like someone had just told me, “You’re allowed to take your time.” I’ll keep this one close.

[Matthew Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that librarians quietly recommend because we know it will stay with you. Sky Ranch doesn’t rush to make its point, it lets you live in its world long enough to feel something real.

The writing is spare, elegant, and deeply observant. I loved how Lockwood captured the landscape, it’s both setting and character, harsh yet healing. Jennifer’s story feels like part memoir, part meditation.

I’ll be recommending this to readers who love grounded fiction that actually respects their intelligence.

[Ellen Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn into this memoir from the very beginning - a young girl living in the wide open spaces, and with her own horse! It immediately became clear that this was not an idyllic childhood, though. It's a story of the wonder of nature and animals, interspersed with emotional and social deprivation that she felt but couldn't name. The story is wonderfully told, giving full voice to both good and bad in everyone she encounters, and in herself.

[Christina Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is remarkable how Sky Ranch skillfully combines family history, personal memory, and the broader stigma associated with mental illness. It speaks to numerous families who experienced similar situations but never discussed them, so it is more than just one woman's story.

The descriptions of Linda riding out with her horse and collie as a child particularly touched me. The events at home always cast a shadow over those powerful moments of freedom.

[Yolanda J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in a rural place, I deeply related to the mix of isolation and freedom Linda describes. The difference is, I had stability at home. Reading her story made me realize what a gift that was.

Her honesty about her mother’s mental illness is rare. So many families avoid those truths. Seeing them written down felt like an act of healing.

This isn’t a book you read lightly, it’s one you carry with you.

[Christopher V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening scene floored me. Getting that call that your mother has died by suicide, it’s devastating. And Linda writes it with such clarity you feel the shock yourself.

From there, the story unfolds in layers, shifting between her childhood on the ranch and her adult search for understanding. It’s honest, sometimes painfully so, but always written with care.

It’s rare to read a memoir that holds both heartache and admiration in equal measure. This is one of them.

[Henrietta Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me think of my grandmother's tales of the quiet dignity, the labor, and the pride of living near the land. I experienced Jennifer's love and tiredness in equal measure. The balance between the ranch's blessings and burdens felt very real.

Near the end, I started crying because it was true, not because it was depressing. Novels that allow you to think and breathe while still surprising you with their tenderness are hard to come by. That is what Sky Ranch is.

[Aaron Gatling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover drew me in, but the tone kept me reading. The slow tempo is perfect because it makes you sit still and focus. I was reminded of the aspects of life that we tend to forget when we are in a hurry by Jennifer's thoughts on her father and family.

This story is not very loud. It is a silent one that irritates you. The kind that invites you to step outside, gaze at the horizon, and take a moment to relax.

[Patricia Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book by Linda Lockwood has a sense of intimacy and scope. The contradictions of returning home, the comfort, the ghosts, and the things unsaid were all beautifully captured by Sky Ranch. Jennifer is not your average heroine; she is intelligent, strong, and endearingly flawed.

I was surprised at how much I could relate to her. Sometimes we go back to places to learn more about who we have become rather than to reclaim them. That is the main focus of this story.

[Darlene Faust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was like taking a deep breath. I read a lot of fast-paced fiction, but this one made me slow down and gave me a taste of what it is like to reflect. The Montana setting is vibrant and alive; it is more than just a background.

I admired Lockwood's portrayal of labor; the physical toil of the ranch is transformed into an emotional cadence, a means of remembering and forgiving. Prose that is both quiet and powerful is uncommon.