A girl and five brave horses [Hardcover]

Sonora Carver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1961 | Edition: 1st

A Girl and Five Brave Horses is the story of Sonora Carver and was the basis for the movie Wild Hearts Can't be Broken. Carver answered the following want ad: Wanted: Attractive young woman who can swim and dive. Likes horses, desires to travel. See Dr. W. F. Carver, Savannah Hotel. From there she became the first woman to jump from forty and sixty feet into a pool of water with diving horses. Carver was blinded during a jump as a result of hitting the water off balance and detaching both of her retinas. Despite this she continued to jump for another eleven years. An amazing and inspiring story. Wilder Publications is a green publisher. All of our books are printed to order. This reduces waste and helps us keep prices low while greatly reducing our impact on the environment.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (1961)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0007DYJFM
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,528,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sonora Carver's inspiring memoir, February 13, 2010

By 

Cyndy Otty - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A girl and Five Brave Horses (Paperback)

Like many little girls, I was absolutely obsessed with horses. To an extent, I guess I still am. But as a child my life basically revolved around anything related to horses. In this, Carver and I are much alike. If you're unfamiliar with the name, Carver was an entertainer who was made famous by being one of the first female horse divers. Moreover, she was blind for more than half of the two decades she performed. Her memoir inspired the Disney film "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken". I was quite enamored with the film when I saw it as a child, but now realize that it is sadly a huge departure from the real story to the point that it's nearly unrecognizable from the material from which it is based. I find this particularly disappointing because the true story is in fact a remarkable one that is far more interesting, entertaining and inspiring than the film's product.

Carver's memoir is peppered with anecdotes of her life, citing interesting tidbits about all of the horses in the show and the intricacies of the training and physicality involved in horse diving. In fact, the entire book is written more like a lengthy conversation being told, wavering from point to point and focusing on what is of most interest to the author at that particular moment. While a bit jarring in terms of narrative flow I still found the story is easy to follow and as a horse enthusiast I found it desperately interesting. She recounts the specifics of how the horses were cared for, their particular personalities and, possibly most interesting of all, their individual diving routines and preferences. The majority of the book focuses on the first eight years or so Carver spent diving before being blinded. She chronicles in great detail the process by which she joined and trained with the touring exhibition, her first dive, and many of her experiences with all those involved in the circus type entertainment world to which she was involved. She makes it clear that she dearly enjoyed her chosen profession and it's hard to not feel likewise reading her words.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the book for me was Carver's reminiscing on her struggles to retain normalcy after going blind. Absent is the wallowing in self pity that many would expect, but rather Carver is almost immediately aware of her need to do things on her own. Nearly an entire chapter is devoted to explaining how she went about regaining -- or more accurately maintaining -- her own independence and she is emphatic when explaining her reasons, noting that they might seem rather unorthodox. As a blind person, though, I share her conviction and completely agree with her reasoning.

However, true to her own life her blindness is relegated to a position of near non-importance. And while she details much of the adjustment she experienced after losing her sight, she does not allow it to be the focus of this book anymore than she allowed it to overshadow her accomplishments as a performer. Perhaps it is because of this that no one was truly surprised when she made the decision to continue diving regardless of her lost vision. While the movie is focused on her battling to have the chance, Carver's only fight was a small internal debate that could probably be considered nothing more than nervous stage fright. And while many would say this in itself was a courageous decision, Carver herself is reluctant to label the idea of diving blind as especially inspiring. She does make casual mention of her realization and acceptance as a role model towards the end of the book; I personally found her story infused with a dynamic strength of character. Truly, it wasn't just the horses that were brave.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, April 27, 2009

By 

D. C. Shearer "Middle School Media Specialist" (Belgrade, MT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Girl and Five Brave Horses (Hardcover)

I'm so glad the book has finally been republished. I'm a middle school librarian and found this book on the shelf years ago. It's a sad-looking tattered, green book :( but one of my favorite to highlight in a books-to-movies book talk. It is always popular with the students,consequently, I've been looking for another copy for some time. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in horses, the depression era, women's issues, or to just wanting to read an excellent book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back in Print and Worth Buying!, August 19, 2009

By 

Kate Emburg ""Whispered Watchword Editor&... (Mount Carmel, PA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Girl and Five Brave Horses (Hardcover)

If you liked the movie WILD HEARTS CAN'T BE BROKEN, you'll want to read A GIRL AND FIVE BRAVE HORSES. The true story is far more compelling in Sonora's own words. Horse lovers will enjoy the book even more than the film, as it concentrates on training the diving horses and the unique personality of each animal. Sonora herself is remarkable, insisting there is nothing difficult or scary about riding a diving horse, even as she describes other girls who were hired but couldn't master the stunt. Even after losing her sight in a diving accident, Sonora never considers quitting. Her obvious love for her horses is the perfect answer to anyone who may suspect the horses were abused, or forced to dive. Sonora says the horses enjoyed performing, and the reader believes every word of her honest memoir. It's great to have this book back in print at a reasonable price, since battered used copies were scarce, and selling for $100 and up.