Amazon Clifford of Drummond Island Category:  Pets/Pet Care Publisher: iUniverse ISBN-10:  0595339239 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 167 Copyright: Dec 15, 2004 ISBN-13: 9780595339235 Did you know a horse can teach you what true moxie is? A yearling whitetail buck encounters a hunter and wrestles for his life. A boy falls through the ice and finds an ingenious way to save himself. A German shepherd chases away an apparition. All are episodes of the courage displayed in Return to Manitou. In this poignant and inspiring sequel to Clifford of Drummond Island, two Morgan horses live by example, showing their owner how to survive injury, tragedy and grief. A true story and an unforgettable read. Excerpt “'Tis very certain the desire of life prolongs it.” ~ Lord Byron My mom’s mother was a hundred years old. She was a thin, soft-spoken lady who liked to wear dresses in alarming neon colors, and pumps to match. She had emigrated from Sweden with her parents when she was a child, married at eighteen, and lost her husband when she was twenty-nine. She never remarried. She had raised eight kids on her own, washing and hanging people’s clothes to make a living. She moved to Arizona later in life, but came back to northern Michigan and stayed with my folks every summer. One August night, she was sleeping in the master bedroom. It was past midnight and I sat in the kitchen writing a letter, enjoying the quiet, while Reva slept at my feet. The only sound was the ticking of the ancient wooden clock which hung crookedly on the wall above me. Reva was just a year old at that time. Despite her state of clumsy adolescence, she could emit a deep, ferocious bark. At that moment she did, waking from a sound sleep, thundering loud enough to shake the windows. I nearly dropped my pen. She leaped up and charged across the room, just as I heard my Grandmother’s voice saying, “No! Get out!” Reva forced the bedroom door open, and to my horror, burst inside, barking like mad. I ran in after her, and the hallway’s beam of light revealed Grandma sitting straight up in bed. Reva stood next to the bed with her nose up on the pillow, nudging and licking Grandma’s hands. “Grandma! I am so sorry! I’ve no idea what’s come over her!” “Did you see that?” Grandma pointed toward me with a gnarled, trembly finger. “What?” “There was someone here!” I smiled. “Oh no Grandma, no one is here. I am still up, there’s nobody in this house. You were having a dream.” “No, there was.” “Can I get you anything?” She sighed, her shoulders sagging a little in resignation. “No thank you.” “Okay, good night then. Everything’s okay. Come on, Reva.” Reva came out of the room and I softly closed the door. The next morning, Dad took me aside and said, “What happened with your grandmother last night?” “Reva went bursting into her room and woke her up. Grandma was upset, too. She was having a bad dream that she saw someone.” Dad turned and looked at me over the top of his glasses. “She did see someone. She said it was a man, with a long white beard, in a white robe, standing at the foot of her bed.” I felt the foggy chill that comes only with the supernatural. “What? Who was it?” “She doesn’t know. She was telling him to go away. He disappeared when your dog came in.” We never found out who the apparition was, or why he was there. I felt badly that I hadn’t listened to Grandma more closely that night. She never again spoke of her strange visitor, .but she continued to thwart the Grim Reaper for the next four years. And from that time on, she would sneak Reva tidbits under the table.

Nadja King, Editor, Horses For Life Magazine
"The author has provided a special way to make Drummond Island a part of all of us. If you love horses and animals in general, this book will make you laugh and make you cry. This is a book that will stay with you, as many fine classics do."


Lillian Cauldwell, Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio
"I recommend all ages to read this book. Become lost in a world of wonder and love that will transport you from the commonplace to the extraordinary. Five Clifford stars!"

Jill Lowe Brumwell, author, Drummond Island History, Folklore and Early People
"An entertaining and heartwarming read."