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Biography & Autobiography. Nonfiction. HTML: The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn't be corralled into her waiting trailer. Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan's life. This gentle creature�malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection�had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan's paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living. An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all love�even an animal's�has the power to heal..… (more)
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Written with humor, poignancy, candor, and clear, crisp poetic style, the author takes us on a wonderful journey regarding the redemptive power of love.
There are times in life when we spontaneously, unexpectedly break out of character, when previous
It was fate that brought Susan Richards and an abused horse together. When the local SPCA posted a SOS plea asking the public to assist with 40 recently confiscated malnourished, poor- in- health horses, uncharacteristically, Susan jumped in her car and drove to the SPCA.
When a severely emaciated mare named Lay Me Down walked into her horse trailer, tiny foal behind, Susan knew it was not she who chose which horse to adopt, but indeed she was chosen.
Susan knew pain and abandonment. Her mother died when she was five; her father then left for a life of booze and denial. Susan was shifted to homes of relatives who clearly thought her a burden. Abused and unwanted, knowing love hurt too much, Susan learned to build a wall where pain could not touch.
Then, at 43, after a broken marriage and recovery from alcoholism, a broken horse helped a broken hearted woman, the rescuer was rescued and the wounded horse helped a wounded owner to find the strength to risk and dare to love.
When the horse developed a tumor, the author knew that Lay Me Down had created a space wherein the horse and her childhood merged forcing her to learn that risking love, in all the beauty and potential sorrow, takes strength and courage and creates a gift that keeps right on giving.
Highly recommended. I believe you will laugh, you will cry and this is a story that will hold your heart for a while.
I was surprised at how gently this book flowed. It felt like stream-of-consciousness, progressing from memory to memory without me even fully realizing how far the story strayed. Susan had a very difficult life, and she is very honest about what she endured and also what she brought on herself. Her relationship with Lay Me Down and other horses, even the impetuous Morgan Georgia, reveal a lot about her and her maturity. This is really a book about love, life, death, and how a person is never to old to learn and grow wise.
I liked the
Richards makes no excuses for her alcoholic and promiscuous youth, nor for her divorce or her decade of anti-social isolation. She acknowledges the damage and focuses on her gradual recovery, driven by her love for her horses and in particular, the mare she rescued.
I avoid most memoirs of an abusive childhood or marriage. I dislike reading the details of someone else's pain, and too frequently, such books are riddled with excuses and blame. I marvel that Susan Richards manages to escape those traps, and consider it clear proof that her broken horse truly did fix her broken heart. Her story is upbeat but relentlessly honest, a combination irresistible to me.
Richards integrates her painful childhood, chaotic youth and angry adult years to reveal a charming, mature woman capable of deep friendship and compassion, love and generosity of spirit, but not a soft person, rather, a woman of strength and courage of the most rare kind - with the courage to face herself and her history, her feelings and hopes, with unflinching honesty and acceptance.
Books are my friends, have been my friends all my life. Chosen by a Horse is very good friend indeed, the kind that wears well and demonstrates qualities I want to imitate in my own life, the kind of friend that makes me a better person than I would be without them.
I didn't just cry for the gorgeous horse who still managed affection and trust towards people after the abuse
What made the book so special was that broken animals & broken people can mend and bring such healing and joy later to others. Very heartbreaking but in the end incredibly inspiring.
I really loved it.
Beautiful story that illustrates what most animal lovers know: animals have
Lay Me Down was a very special horse; she had a sweet disposition despite her history. She was able to help Susan process her unresolved grief and learn patience and forgiveness.
Excellent read!
Then she gets a call from the local SPCA, which has taken in more than forty horses from an abuse case. Their barn was already full; they need foster homes immediately. Against her better judgment, Richards agrees to take one of the horses.
She gets a Standardbred named Lay Me Down, a 16-year-old broodmare who is terribly thin and who has pneumonia. With Susan’s care, Lay Me Down gets back to a healthy weight, recovers from her pneumonia, and gets successfully integrated into her existing herd of one Morgan mare and two quarter horse geldings.
And then she discovers that Lay Me Down has an eye tumor. In the position it’s in, it can’t even be biopsied safely, but it’s almost certainly cancerous.
Susan Richards, whose heart broke at age five when her mother died a lingering death from cancer, and who has steadfastly avoided any emotional commitments that would lead to loss, finds herself committed to a beautiful, sweet-natured horse who has had a life as hard as her own, and who is going to die. Susan struggles with Lay Me Down’s illness, her own conflicted feelings, and her first stumbling efforts to rejoin the human race. This truly is a deeply moving story about a horse, a broken heart, and the beginnings of healing.
Highly recommended.
I borrowed this book from a friend.