Patricia Lee Lewis
Thorns of the Mesquite

About the Book

Thorns of the Mesquite is set on a cattle and sheep ranch in West Texas in the late 1930’s. World War I has expanded America’s horizons and sense of hegemony in the world; the Depression has taken a terrible toll in rural areas, combined with the great drought and the Dustbowl. The threat of World War II destabilizes throughout. 

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The novel’s main character, Dona Rose Willis, grew up on the ranch, and though her life is circumscribed by the land she loves and customs of her time and place, it is through her and the characters who come into her life that we experience a complex world of racism, sexism, tyranny of religion, devotion to land, forgiveness and love of many kinds. 

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About the Author

I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and though I moved to New England with my family many years ago, the spirit of the Lone Star State—as they say—has never left me. My early childhood was marked by visits to my grandparents' ranch in West Texas, and the powerful images from that landscape and life have infused my writing for decades.

It was while I was leading a writing retreat in Ireland that the seed for Thorns of the Mesquite was planted. An image of my great-aunt Dona, whom I'd met only briefly at age five (but I remember to this day how she called the chickens), appeared to me, walking a dirt road on that very ranch. I was compelled to follow. What resulted, years later, is this novel, a made-up story born of deep personal roots.