Chosen by a Horse: A Memoir - Hardcover

Richards, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1569474192 ISBN 13: 9781569474198

Publisher: Soho Press, 2006

Synopsis

“Proof that love for another animal can alone make one human and humane: wit and crushing sadness chasing each other all across the page; intelligence and bravery and perfect literary pitch... Damn great.”—Melissa Holbrook Pierson, author of Dark Horses and Black Beauties: Animals; Women, a Passion

“A bold and sensitive memoir of what it means to open one’s heart to love... A magnificent read.”—Adele von Rust McCormick, Ph.D and Marlena Deborah McCormick, PhD, authors of Horses and the Mystical Path; Horse Sense and the Human Heart

“A triumph for all spirits.”—Laura Shaine Cunningham, author of A Place in the Country

“Should rank with the great animal stories.”—Ann Arensberg, author of Incubus

"Two kindred spirits find each other in this beautifully written memoir about the human-animal bond."—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

When she agrees to take on the care of one of the abused horses just rescued by the local SPCA, a new chapter opens in Susan Richards’s difficult life. She lost her mother at the age of five and was raised by uncaring relatives; married unhappily and divorced; and suffered from alcoholism. While Susan is trying to capture the horse assigned to her, Lay Me Down, a skeletal mare, walks into Susan’s horse trailer of her own volition. Susan already owns one mare and two geldings—the diva-like Georgia, boyish Tempo and hopelessly romantic Hotshot—but it is with Lay Me Down that she forges a special, healing relationship that alters her life.

Poignant and evocative, this is a book for anyone who has ever loved a horse, and for everyone who has ever lost a loved one.

About this title

Book Description

Published in hardcover by Soho Press, 2006, 1-56-947419-2

From the Back Cover

"Two kindred spirits find each other in this beautifully written memoir about the human-animal bond."-Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation
The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn’t be corralled into her waiting trailer. But Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. Weak from malnutrition, Lay Me Down had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. Then fate brought her into Susan’s paddock, where she taught this brokenhearted woman how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.
"Susan Richards thought she was rescuing a starved, abused and abandoned mare . . . Turns out Lay Me Down was rescuing Susan Richards. An incredibly moving story, beautifully written and insightful." --The Roanoke Times

"Important lessons about courage, kindness and grief." --The Hartford Courant
Susan Richards has a B.A. in English from the University of Colorado and a Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University. She lives in Bearsville, New York, and teaches writing at SUNY Ulster and Marist College.

Edition details

• Publisher: Soho Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1569474192
• ISBN 13: 9781569474198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256