A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, 1860-1960. This item is unavailable.A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, 1860-1960

Historically, the Southwest has attracted people with yearnings for freedom and adventure, people who define themselves as individuals. Unlike their husbands and brothers, women in the Southwest did not, for the most part, subdue and tame the land; but their character and individuality were manifested as they lived with and improved upon conditions as they found them. Their fascination with their way of life and the need for self-expression led them to write of their experiences, providing them with a creative outlet and offering those who came later a unique window into the past. A Quilt of Words won the Border Regional Library Association 1989 Southwest Book Award for literary excellence and enrichment of the cultural heritage of the Southwest. It was also awarded the National Federation of Press Women first prize for history in 1989.

Sharon Niederman is an award-winning Southwestern author, journalist and photographer living in Raton, New Mexico on the Colorado border, with her husband, Charles Henry, her Airedale terrier, Buckley, and English springer spaniel, Samantha, in an historic 1906 home. Her work has appeared in virtually every regional and numerous national publications. She specializes in cuisine, travel, history, literature and spirituality.

When she isn't on the road documenting New Mexico traditions, Niederman likes to read, hike with her dogs, concoct recipes, cook, bake and give dinner parties, garden and forage. "My pantry shelves are packed with jellies and preserves made from chokecherries, wild plums and apricots, rose hips and figs from my own tree. This year I enjoyed dandelion salad and wild raspberries. Every time I discover a new source, I am grateful for the gift of abundance and feel like I've landed in the Garden of Eden," she says.

She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, Silver Spur CowBelles and past president of New Mexico Press Women, and she serves on the board of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. She writes for Sunset Magazine, Enchantment, New Mexico Stockman, ABQ Free Press, Tailgater Magazine and other publications. Her public relations and marketing clients include Taos School of Music and Lifescapes Modern Landscaping, an Albuquerque-based landscape design and installation business.