MSI Sister Diaries: K. L. Emanuelson
Today we’re honored to feature an entry by an MSI Sister and U.S. Army Veteran who went on to became a professional cowgirl, horse trainer, and riding instructor, and is now an award-winning poet and Western novelist.
Through her horses, art, music, and storytelling, she continues to embody resilience, creativity, and heart.
About:
Bio: I'm a disabled Army Veteran, was a working, professional cowgirl & am an author
Dates of service: 1976 - 1985
Entry:
Except for the events that caused my PTSD, I absolutely LOVED the Army. During my 9 years, I was lucky enough to do a stint as a Drill Sergeant at the Retraining Brigade in Camp Funston which was part of Fort Riley, KS. We had 71 male prisoners in our unit & essentially put them through Basic Training on steroids as a path toward redemption. See...our guys had already done hard time at Fort Leavenworth, then came to Funston in the compound with armed guards & razor wire & then into the old WWII barracks for 8 weeks of the Retraining Brigade. If they made it through, they could integrate back into the regular Army, finish their 20 years & retire at the highest rank they ever held with an Honorable Discharge. We took the guys on forced marches, did air assault missions at midnight, rappelled down a cliff & did the slide for life. Yeah...I could have lived without that last thing. I loved my guys--they were all combat arms troops, most busted for smoking weed. Only one creep, & he was a total misogynist. I wrote him up & got him booted on a Dishonorable Discharge.
I've been an animal lover and a writer since childhood. I've had dogs, cats and horses forever & bought my first horse at 17. I've written for different publications since I was in grade school. In the Army, I did quite a bit of writing. Actually wrote the scripts for some military training videos--at least one is still shown to soldiers before they deploy overseas. I did a lot of photo-journalism as a stringer for military publications after I ETSed. I'm also a Beowulf scholar and have presented on Beowulf at academic conferences. I'm an award winning poet, but mainly, my writing centers around my novels. Not surprising at all that my books have a lot of animals presented as fully developed characters, not as cardboard cutouts, right?
After I ETSed, I worked in the horse industry. I was a working, professional cowgirl for decades. I did a lot of horse training and riding lessons. I used to rodeo & also showed in English disciplines. Nowadays, all my fur babies are rescues. I have 5 rescue cats, 1 little old man of a rescue Pug. and 2 rescue horses. I'm too busted up for competition any more, but I still ride my horses on my ranch. I've trained both of them in dressage & that's what we do up & down the hills.
My creative outlets, which really, REALLY help with my PTSD, are playing music (Celtic music & classical) and painting. I do Rosemaling--a Norwegian folk art which involves embellishing utilitarian wooden items, but also do paintings, both watercolor and acrylic.
I read all the time & work on my books. If you do a Google search of my author name K.L, Emanuelson, it will take you to a page on Amazon with my books. It should come as no surprise to anybody who has read this far that my books are in the Western genre: Set in the American West, they have plenty of equine characters. One is 19th century, the other two are ""near-historical"" set in 1989, and December '89 to '96 for the sequel. All of them have elements of Magic Realism. "Death and the Bearwalker" is a contemporary Western murder mystery set in Colorado Springs, but has no Magic Realism elements unlike the previous three books. Current project "Snake Priest" a contemporary novel, set in Germany, Arizona and Colorado. Revolves around the theme of PTSD in veterans and healing. I hope for a 2026 release.
One of the most important parts of a community, a sisterhood, and a strong and unbreakable friendship is the mutual exchange of stories and experiences. There are many experiences that are unique to who women Veterans are, what they have endured, and survived.
The Military Sisterhood Initiative's goal is to build a community that fights together, laughs together, cries together, and heals together; therefore, we have taken the initiative to tell the stories of women Veterans through our Sister Diaries.
To learn more and to join the Sisterhood, visit www.militarysisterhoodinitiative.org.
