BIOGRAPHY

Wild Ride Home: Love, Loss, and a Little White Horse, a Family Memoir

by Christine Hemp
Arcade Publishing. Feb. 2020. 330p. ISBN 9781950691241. $24.99. MEMOIR
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Poet Hemp’s debut memoir fluently combines multiple story lines into a coherent whole. A devastating break-up with her fiancé sends her home to Washington State, where she has to confront her mother’s dementia, her own battle with cancer, and her father’s sudden decline and death. In flashbacks, readers learn about the bond she developed with her first horse, Lightfoot, as well as her experiences with her most recent horse, Buddy. Hemp’s parents raised her to be resilient in the face of challenges, and not to accept unhappy endings. Combined, these two qualities give Hemp the hope and perseverance with which she lives her life. Instead of viewing obstacles as setbacks, she genuinely sees them as opportunities for growth.
VERDICT A well-told story of embracing life’s struggles that is perfect for horse lovers or those who have personal experience with cancer or Alzheimer’s.
Reviewed by Derek Sanderson, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY , Feb 01, 2020
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