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rattlecakes's review against another edition
5.0
omg I couldn't put this book DOWN! It reminded me so much of my horsey childhood and made me sob like a baby. Such a lovely story of an emotionally scarred woman nursing a sick horse back into health while reconciling her own issues and healing her own wounds. awww.
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
5.0
I was reading "Quiet", a popularized but still somewhat demanding work of psychology/sociology when I took a break with this short memoir that reads fast. I gulped down this paean to the healing power of horses in two days.
If you understand the human-animal bond you will understand this book. The author uses a well-structured story of rescue, bonding, and loss to illuminate that bond, interweaving the story of the horse with her own story of loss and redemption.
I particularly appreciated that the writer is emotional without being sentimental. Yes, she loves her horses, yes, she talks baby talk to them. But she still understands that they are horses. She understands that horses connect deeply with each other. And she gets that what we see as their "unconditional love" might be anthropomorphism.
If you understand the human-animal bond you will understand this book. The author uses a well-structured story of rescue, bonding, and loss to illuminate that bond, interweaving the story of the horse with her own story of loss and redemption.
I particularly appreciated that the writer is emotional without being sentimental. Yes, she loves her horses, yes, she talks baby talk to them. But she still understands that they are horses. She understands that horses connect deeply with each other. And she gets that what we see as their "unconditional love" might be anthropomorphism.
silverhawk3799's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable book, but not as much about the horse as I expected. Richards does a good job of writing in an engaging manner. The way the horse started to wake her up and realize the way she had been viewing/living her life was subtle. I found Richards to be depressing at time, but it was always very easy to empathize with her struggles to get over the tragedies in her life. Even though the end wasn't what I expected, it seemed to be fitting.
bookslut007's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a real tear jerker. A beautiful story about love and loss.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
I have never owned a horse and I have only rode on one a handful of times in my life, but I love them. Not a school girl infatuation love, just a heart and soul kind of love.
The cover appealed to me so I added this to my TBR and it remained for years until I found a copy at Goodwill.
This is a memoir of Richards' divorce and the ongoing grief she feels at the loss of her mother at age five. She is shuffled between relatives that don't show much love or compassion to her. So when Richards finds herself newly divorced and on her own, she impulsively takes in a horse that has been abused by its owner. That horse is Lay Me Down.
The journey Richards takes with her is touching and heart warming, but the writing here doesn't evoke the emotions shared between horse and human. This is a quick read and I am glad I finally got to it, but I felt it missed something for me.
The cover appealed to me so I added this to my TBR and it remained for years until I found a copy at Goodwill.
This is a memoir of Richards' divorce and the ongoing grief she feels at the loss of her mother at age five. She is shuffled between relatives that don't show much love or compassion to her. So when Richards finds herself newly divorced and on her own, she impulsively takes in a horse that has been abused by its owner. That horse is Lay Me Down.
The journey Richards takes with her is touching and heart warming, but the writing here doesn't evoke the emotions shared between horse and human. This is a quick read and I am glad I finally got to it, but I felt it missed something for me.
cdehlert's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written book about a woman who saves an abused horse and, it turns out, the horse saves her as well.