Title: The Yard - How a Horse Healed My Heart
Author: Grace Olson
Year Published: 2022
Publisher: Brown Dog Books
What's it about?: A memoir full of humor about how horses helped Grace Olson find herself after experiencing depression following becoming a mother.
"I would really like you to know that love is more than just a feeling. Love is an action. It's a giving of care to others without expecting anything in return."
Likes:
The humor! The crazy people and adventures Olson gets mixed up with and in are so funny and almost unbelievable. It is full of "you can't make this stuff up" moments which caused me to recommend it to a friend before even finishing it as we were experiencing a "you can't make this stuff up" day. It was hard to read The Yard without a smile on my face.
The honesty. Olson digs deep to share her experiences with depression and how horses were able to help her build herself back up. This story is real and vulnerable, showing how life isn't perfect. Olson displays anxiety and the effects it can have on you perfectly.
Dislikes:
That I took so long to read it! I have been following Olson on Instagram since before The Yard came out, yet it took me far too long to read it! And even longer to write this blog post. However, I did end up reading it, loving it, and learning from it.
Before I tell you my overall thoughts on The Yard, Olson was gracious enough to answer a few questions about her writing process to share with you!
Interview:
Did you find the process of writing or editing harder? Why?
Olson: "Editing was definitely harder! The editor I worked with was amazing and her cv includes the likes of David Attenborough so you can imagine how much of a perfectionist she was. I had written the book as a comedy with only a brief mention of the PND (postnatal depression) but she encouraged me to include more about it and make that the spine of the story. So it was hard to take the book to pieces and include more emotional depth within it. I had two full read throughs with her and I re-wrote the entire book about four times! It took AGES!!"
Where this story begins seems so clear - Lady Alexa coming into your life and encouraging you to ride horses again. Was it clear to you as you started writing?
Olson: "No because I was looking at it from the comedy aspect so it originally began with me meeting Valerie and Stan for the first time. I then went back in time to tell the reader how I had got back into horses. My editor made it very clear, this was not a good idea! It was then that I could see, Lady Alexa was the beginning of the story."
Did you clearly know where the end of this book would be? It is a great ending to this story, and at the same time feels so much like a new beginning. Do you plan to write another book about you and Poppy?
Olson: "No not at first. I wrote it so that no one knew what happened with Poppy so that I could lead into a second book. Again the editor said "No!" She said that readers of a new author needed to see a clear ending but luckily even though it has clarity it still allows the reader to see the possibility of a second book - which I am a half-way through writing now."
All of the characters are so lively, real, and outrageous! Did you combine people you met to create these characters?
Olson: "There are a couple of ‘combined' characters but on the whole, the majority of them are real people and in some cases I had to tone them down because readers would think they are too un-real! "
You wrote about a few main horses you worked with, did you have to cut any others who made less of an impact on you during this time?
Olson: "Fortunately, no. All the horses who were part of my healing process are all in the book! And there are more coming up in book two as I dive deeper into childhood emotional issues that only horses can heal.... "
Thoughts:
Olson's stories and honesty makes The Yard a great book to help anyone feel more comfortable about being nervous around horses. I've been riding for twenty years without a break and I was still able to learn along with Olson as she rediscovered horses and have actually implemented some of what Olson learned with my own horses! This is also a great read for mothers to help them know they are not alone in how they feel - or just anyone who is not feeling the most confident about themselves!
Olson has a positive attitude even when she gets thrown into the deep end of situations she would rather not be part of at all, but comes out of them with a new look on life and writes about it in a way that puts a smile on my face. I was constantly cheering her on and trying my best to encourage her from afar (in time and space).
Olson's care for every horse she came into contact with is inspiring. I love how much care and love she puts into them, even when she doesn't necessarily want to care for the horse. She puts so much of her own time and money into the horses she doesn't own and I admire her for that.
The writing is amazing. Olson is a talented writer and I never wanted to put the book down. It flowed so easily that I got lost in the words without realizing how many hours passed.
The characters are lively, vibrant, and outlandish, and Olson really brings them to full life - this includes the horses and humans. Many of the humans were loud and outspoken and caused Olson to end up in situations she was not prepared for. Many also represent people anyone will run into in the horse world, which makes it even better to read about Olson's experience with them! Even each yard has its own distinct personality that makes each of the settings feel like characters.
Olson is a true horsewoman and a gifted writer. There is something in The Yard for every reader to learn while laughing along with the insane adventures.
"Everything we do with horses must have a benefit for them. We are doing it for them, not to them. We are supporting them as good leaders."
Find out more about Olson here.
Find the book here.
Find more book recommendations here.
Photo supplied by Grace Olson. Photo taken by Pooch And Ponies Photography.