Kelly Kathleen Ferugson, author of 'My Life As Laura'

When she was six years old, Kelly Ferguson's mother gave her a boxed set of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, and These Happy Golden Years. As it turned out, those books influenced Kelly's life so much that, in middle age, she set off driving across the country wearing a voluminous prairie dress. From Wisconsin to Minnesota, South Dakota to Missouri, she explored Laura’s past and her own.

During this week's program, Kelly will talk about why she took that trip and read from her new memoir, My Life As Laura: How I Searched for Laura Ingalls Wilder and Found Myself. Part travelogue, part memoir and part social commentary, My Life as Laura shows how a relationship with a pioneer girl who lived in little houses long ago can give a sense of purpose for today.

Find out more about Kelly Kathleen Ferguson and listen to the program, on the radio or online.

• Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. on Montana Public Radio
• Thursday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m. on Yellowstone Public Radio
• Online, anytime at MTPR.org
• Via the MTPR podcast