The Year of the Horses

"Beautiful, lyrical. . . . The past interweaves with the present in this fabulous, memorable memoir."

― Good Morning America

 

"Over the last couple years, as lives and priorities have shifted in the wake and midst of a dozen kinds of large-scale tragedies, it has not been unusual to learn that a friend or acquaintance is rekindling a relationship with a childhood hobby or passion. Drawing, playing an instrument, spending time in nature, working with clay. For those who haven’t, but hope to, this book may be the velvety nuzzle of a nudge needed to start."

― Vanity Fair

 

"A beautiful story about animals and our love for animals and very relatable. . . . who hasn't looked fine but is going through something really terrible?"

― Weike Wang, TODAY

 

"Artfully written and deeply relatable."

― Shondaland

 

"Horses play a key role in her recovery, but Maum extracts larger lessons about. . . . the soulful value of acting just for pleasure, and just for yourself, especially as a woman."

― Electric Lit

 

"As a reader (and as a mother), Maum’s narrative propelled me to keep turning the page. . . . Ride with Maum and celebrate her using horses to redefine what it means to be a mother."

― Chicago Review of Books

 

"The introspection and self-knowledge present on every page of the book are as stunning as the prose itself."

― The Arkansas International

 

"Raw, emotional, and particularly inspiring."

― The U.S. Polo Association

 

"Tender, honest, and beautifully written."

― Kate Baer, #1 Bestselling author of What Kind Of Woman

 

"Searing, lucid, tender and wise, The Year of the Horses is a moving, beautifully-written interrogation into a complicated, privileged childhood and its aftermath. Courtney Maum weaves together the sensory, tactile world of horses and their capacity to heal us, along with one of the most illuminating and powerful depictions of depression I have ever read. Oh, and it’s also a page-turner. I tore through it with immense pleasure."

― Dani Shapiro, author Inheritance

 

"Gorgeously written, wry but loving, heartbreaking and, most of all, roving. . . . The Year of the Horses is a memoir of power and beauty and pain that moves across the world like the beautiful horses that carry it."

― Lisa Taddeo, author of Animal

 

"A touching and insightful memoir of depression and healing."

― The Millions

 

"I was sold at Courtney Maum and “horses,” TBH, but pleasantly surprised to learn about the other threads in this one: Maum’s experience of reckoning with depression, plus historical portraits of other horseback-riding ladies. Saddle up, we’re going riding."

― LitHub

 

"Author of Touch and Costalegre, Courtney Maum writes honestly and openly about confronting depression in her 30s and, when all else failed, taking up horseback riding again."

― Katie Couric Media