Customer Reviews

Breaking Free

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling is a powerful novel about the power of healing and forgiveness. Maggie Roberts is almost done with her stint in prison for a tragic accident when she joins a group to help rehabilitate horses who have been abused. She has kept her feeling locked inside of her for seven years not caring for anything or anybody to keep herself safe inside the prison walls. But when Breaking Free, a former racehorse, comes in for rehab, Maggie finds her shell cracking open at the abuse the horse has suffered. The pain she has faced helps her work with the horse as they both learn to trust again. Gil Winters would do anything for his son Eddie who has spina bifida and is in a wheelchair. Eddie falls in love with Breaking Free, and to everyone's surprise Gil finds himself buying the horse and agreeing to let Maggie live at their home and train it. The opening chapters of this book were striking with their stark images of Maggie's life in prison and the work the prisoners do with the horses. I am not a horse person, but even I found myself moved nearly to tears by the healing to and by the horses. Eddie's basset hound Bonnie also makes a strong impression (I'm practically ready to run out and adopt one myself). It is testimony to Snelling's writing that she manages to make even the animals vital characters to the story without sacrificing their nature. This story has much to offer: great drama, romance and a strong Christian theme of forgiveness.

This was my first Lauraine Snelling book. Most of hers I noticed are series and I just didn't want to get into a series but liked the synopsis of this one with the horse therapy. Living in Wyoming horses are a big part of life and having been a piano teacher for 21 years many of my students have been involved with horse programs which teach them so much.

The book is a lot about redemption and forgiveness. There are several interesting characters. Eddie and Maria are just adorable and add so much to the story. I didn't like Gil so much in the beginning but guess he had redeeming qualities. I just felt sorry for Maggie and felt she was a damaged person who yet had a lot of strength. Though this is a Christian author, she writes at least in this book without a lot of preachiness. I read a lot of secular books so I enjoyed that there was not profanity and sexual scenes and just good values.

I felt the "crime" Maggie was sent to prison for was not quite believeable. For one thing 2 glasses of wine would be highly unlikely to put her over the legal alcohol level and anyone could run a stop sign even not having had one glass of wine. She was an upstanding citizen with never one offense against her. I had a hard time believing she would have been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Of course then we wouldn't have had this story and it is fiction! The other thing that bothered me was the romance between Gil and Maggie. He didn't seem to like her and didn't even want her there and was very judgemental and even unkind to her and then all of a sudden, he's in love with her?? H-m-m

IF you can overlook those couple things and just enjoy the story, it is a good book to spend a few hours with.

Typically I love Lauraine Snelling's books, that's why I was so surprised I couldn't finish this one. It was dull and just seemed like it took forever for the story to take off. I may have quit right before it did, but I just couldn't hang in there until it did. Very disappointing.

This book was one of the "I can't put down type".. I found it very interesting because a member of my family has the same condition and is limited. It was great what a program like this does for some of the in-mates.

Great book. Horse lovers would really love to read all the details about how the horse training made a difference in everyones lives.

I shared this book with a young man in prison. He enjoyed it and shared it with three other prisoners,who also enjoyed it. Both my husband and I read it originally and thought it worth sharing.

In prison for ten years, Maggie Roberts has learned to keep to herself and her emotions under tight control. Up for parole in a few weeks, Maggie is offered the opportunity to work with Thoroughbred race horses in a new prison program. Reluctant at first, her love of horses finally wins out. Working with an abused blood bay gelding, Breaking Free is soon gentled by Maggie's patient touch. But it's not just Breaking Free learning new coping skills. Maggie, too, begins to deal with the guilt of yesterday and embrace the hope for tomorrow. Then Maggie learns a local businessman is set on adopting Breaking Free. Will she have to let go of the one thing keeping her afloat?

Running Free immediately registered with me since my daughter is also involved in a Therapeutic Horseback Riding program. Maggie's awakening is well paced and believable, and though the romance felt rushed, it is apparent that a second chance at love is only icing on the cake of Maggie's post-prison life. As she finds her niche again and begins to sort through her grief and shame, she becomes a woman worthy of the title Heroine. Good, solid writing and a fresh storyling. A must read!

Reviewed by: Sandra Dionne Moore
http://www.sdionnemoore.com/

Bestselling author Lauraine Snelling has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction, contemporary and historical, for adults and young readers. This is the first by a Christian publisher.

Breaking Free is a heartwarming story of love, loss-and second chance for humans and animals.

Maggie Roberts is serving ten years in prison as the result of a tragic accident. The warden is bringing in a program where inmates work with injured or out-of-control horses--to see if the inmates can rehabilitate them-or the horse has to be destroyed. The warden knows that Maggie loved horses as a teen, and she is one of the first to be selected for the program.

Maggie is able to work around a violent horse named Breaking Free. No one can get near this horse and when they do, he hurts them, prompting the warden to order him destroyed. Maggie steps out of her prison "shell" and asks for a chance to work with the horse. She is also able to suggest other inmates to be in the program.

After years of showing no emotion and giving away nothing about their outside lives, these women start to share and care about each other. Many of these women are tough-and show it at every turn.

A parallel story is about 11-year-old Eric, wheelchair bound because of spina bifida, and his divorced father, Gil. This handicapped boy has the energy and joy of life anyone would envy, while his father spends time worrying about his son--especially when Eric is on top of some huge horse in his therapeutic riding class.

Eric wants his own horse-which brings them to the prison's rehabilitation program. The rest, as they say, is history--or Laurine Snelling's wonderful story.

If you like a nice story of love, living live to its fullest--and hope and redemption, this is a most satisfying read. If you love horses, you will really enjoy that added aspect.

Breaking Free is the perfect name because it means so many things for so many different people.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a story well suited for young readers, young adults and adults.

Maggie is serving ten years in prison for an accident that killed her son. She soon finds solace in the horse program that allows the inmates to take care of horses that can no longer race. She finds a special kinship to Breaking Free, a spirited horse that is full of anger. Maggie soon learns to tame the horse, to the point where she can ride him. Meanwhile Gil is a single father, whose son Eddie has spina bifida and whose mother abandoned him in favor of drugs. Eddie is confined to his wheelchair and Gil wants to do whatever he can for him. They go see the horses from the prison and ends up buying Breaking Free. Maggie goes along with them to help continue the training. The two are thrown together and must learn to trust again in this new relationship.

I'm not really a horse person, but I did enjoy reading this story. I like stories when a troubled person and an equally troubled animal find each other and connect. Maggie and Breaking Free's relationship reminded me of the story of Seabiscuit. Reading about Maggie's life in prison was harsh, but I know that in real life it is even worse. I would have liked, however, if we could have found out what happened to the other inmates that she befriended. I did like how the women were allowed to take care of the horses and learn about them. It was touching to read about how they finally had something to be proud of, to know that they are performing good and to have someone look up to them. At first Grant seemed to be the overprotective father, but after learning about his ex-wife, you realize why he acts that way. I liked Eddie very much, although I felt Grant treated him too much like a young kid. His relationship with Maggie is very moving. The only thing I didn't really like was that Maggie was served such a harsh sentence for her "crime." I mean most people do not get drunk after drinking 2 glasses of wine, and the accident didn't really sound like it was her fault, yet she gets so many years in prison for it. Yet celebrities will do worse crimes and stay in jail for less than 2 hours! It just didn't seem too believable, or else Maggie has a really bad lawyer that didn't defend her very well. I feel though that this book is well written. If you are a horse fan you will definitely want to pick it up.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (7/07)

Maggie Roberts was serving ten years in prison for a heartrending accident. When she began to serve her time, an old woman gave her advice, "just get through." Those were the words Maggie learned to live by for the next seven years. Four months from her parole hearing, she was offered a chance to work with a new program. The "Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation" had contracted with the prison for women to work with racehorses that could no longer race. Maggie was the perfect candidate, she had experience with horses, and she had stayed out of trouble. The women participating in the program would take stable management classes. Maggie loved horses and saw this as a chance for safety, and fresh air. The inmates began their labor by building fences for the horses.

Trenton James, the instructor, recognized the potential in Maggie. He assigned one or two horses to each of ten inmates. Dancer's Delight was her first horse. The horse recognized the kindness and compassion in Maggie and was soon following her around. When Breaking Free arrived at the Rescue Stables, he screamed. The sound was unlike any Maggie had heard before. He was wild and full of anger. James and Maggie worked together to establish the animal's trust. Through working with Breaking Free, Maggie began to face her past and look to the future with hope.

Eddie, an 11-year-old boy bound to a wheel chair by spina-bifida, wants a horse. His divorced father, Gil, comes to realize that his son needs more of him than he has been giving. Gil is a businessperson that worries about his son and works too hard. He and Eddie go to the prison rehabilitation program searching for a horse. Maggie begins working with Eddie, training him. Her emotions begin to open in ways she has not allowed in years.

Lauraine Snelling is a well-known author in the Christian romance genre. Fans will not be disappointed in "Breaking Free." The plot draws in the readers and shows them a side of life they may have never experienced. The characters became part of me. Maggie Roberts is such a real character that I found myself cheering her on. I know little to nothing about horses and yet found that I cared about what happened to the thoroughbreds. The supporting characters are all very human and come to care about each other. Ms Snelling is extremely talented. It is refreshing to find a Christian romance so well written. I highly recommend "Breaking Free" to fans of Christian romance.

Received book free of charge.