Customer Reviews

Chosen by a Horse: A Memoir

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I wasn't really sure of what to expect when I started this book. Something about the review grabbed me and I ordered it. But when I began reading it, I found myself transported into Susan Richards' life. I could see myself in her and found the feelings she had. Maybe it's because I lost my mother when I was young (along with my 3 siblings). But mostly it's because I am a lover of life, of all life, and especially animals. And I fell in love with all of her horses. This book made me feel clean and it was absolutely delicious to read. At Chapter 17 I began crying and fortunately I was alone in the house because I sobbed my way to the end, making loud sloppy noises and feeling free to just empty the box of kleenex by my side. But the overall experience of the book was the joy of life. You could feel and smell and hear and see all of the senses of life that were being described. It was a wonderful experience and I am grateful to Amazon for recommending it to me, and to Susan Richards for writing it.

This is one of those rare books of prose that read like poetry. A beautiful story of a woman who rescues a horse and, surprisingly, is rescued herself. In a short 248 pages, Susan Richards, while turning a critical, yet humorous eye on herself and her troubled past, made me want her for my neighbor and had me longing for a magical horse like Lay Me Down for my very own. And I wanted as my new best friend her wonderful best friend -- part self-trained vet, part horse whisperer -- whose response to any abused animal is "Let's steal her and hide her", a tactic she first tried at age six when she thought two Shetlands were being overworked at a pony-riding farm. Rarely do I read modern writing that makes me wonder and worry over the characters lives as if they were my friends, neighbors or family. I felt that way about everyone in this book, including the horses! I eagerly await Susan Richards next book. And hope she tells me she tracked down one of Lay Me Down's offspring and now has him or her in a pasture with Georgia, Hotshot or Tempo.

The author's clear prose style and restrained manner (never maudlin) draws the reader into this compelling story of great love and courage in the face of adversity. Richards sets to pen her unflinching rendering, exploring the bond formed with her horse, which could just as well speak to matters of the heart between husband and wife or lover and lover. Richards masterfully interweaves with a sense of urgency and extraordinary wisdom her own tormented past with the horse's dire predicament. In the end it is the author's indomitable unswerving spirit that time and time again comes to the animal's rescue and which has the reader rooting for her all the way.

I'm not a horse person. The one time I went riding, the horse took off at a gallop for mountains unknown and I was sobbing and panicked. But I do admire their beauty and grace--but not half as much as I admire the beauty and grace of this book. About a woman whose life has been banged up but not broken, it's also a moving chronicle of coming back to life, discovering what's important, and appreciating the small moments of beauty available to us. Exquisitely written, spare, and flat out magnificent.

This memoir had me from the first few pages. By the second chapter, I was wishing it would never end. It was like sitting down for coffee with a best friend with whom you share so much in common. Susan Richards put into words so many of my feelings for horses and for my life with them, that I could scarcely believe these words were coming from the voice of someone else. Richard's writing skill is above reproach. It is just a pure joy to read. My only complaint is that the book had to end. My only hope is that she write more wonderfully honest books about her life & that of her horses. Bless you Ms. Richards. You touched my heart.

Susan Richards' recently published memoir, Chosen By a Horse, recounts her journey down the road of memory and mourning. Through the bond that she forges with an unwanted, unloved animal, her rescued standard bred mare, Lay Me Down, Susan rediscovers long buried memories of her own mother, and she comes to understand that there is no time limit on the right to grieve properly. Susan's memoir is honest, lean, and, haunting, and long after you close on the final image of her laying her grief and her horse to rest, you will remember the gentle beauty and quiet strength that she reveals while she offers her readers an unflinching examination of her life.

I am an animal lover--I'm even on the board of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a horse and farm animal haven--but I'm also a writer by trade and so train a critical eye on what I read. I was delighted, then, to find myself enraptured not only by this story of compassion but also by Richards' strong telling of it. Her restraint is so effective here; she allows the story to tell itself, and trusts the reader to see its power. We do. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has known vulnerability or has been there for another who has.

I picked this book up at a bookstore while I was waiting around for my car to be serviced. Having no intention of buying the book, because I'm not "into" horses, I thought I'd skim through it to see how the author started her story. I'm taking a writing class about spirituality and inspiration. Well, let me tell you, I ended up resenting the fact that the car repair called me right in the middle of my reading--I'd read about 25 pages. I dashed over to cash register, bought the book, drove home (it took me an hour) and all I could think of was how I could hardly wait to get through dinner and settle down again with that book. At 12 midnight, I finished the book, crying my eyes out, trying not to wake up my husband sleeping peacefully at my side. What a book! Susan Richards, keep on writing! We need your sensitivity and insights!

I really loved this book. I really liked reading about Susan's daily life with her horses and the effect Lay Me Down had on her personal, emotional life. She has a wonderful way of writing that I became enthralled with. It was one of those books that when I was done, I didn't want to read anything else for awhile. I just wanted to think about Susan and Lay Me Down.

This book was wonderful, could not put it down. A beat down horse and a love-leary woman find themselves together. Any horse lover will find themselves nodding their heads or chuckling in agreement at some of the situations Susan and her equine friends find themselves. In the end, this book is really about love ... love of a horse, for a horse, for life ... this horse should've been named Jesus.