The Personal History of Rachel DuPree was inspired by an old photograph I saw in a South Dakota museum. The photo was of a woman sitting in front of a sod dugout. She was alone, the photo was unlabeled, and she was an African-American.I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How had she managed a ranch or a homestead by herself? What was her name? Where was she from? The facts may have been lost, but she had a story. I saw it in her eyes as she looked into the camera. Before I knew it, I began to hear her voice, and I started to write.The Personal History of Rachel DuPree is the story of what might have happened.