In The
Ghost Horse: A True Story of Love, Death and Redemption, Joe
Layden (The
Last Great Fight) has crafted an inspiring love story infused with fate
and coincidence, second chances and hope.
Tim Snyder was a gruff, nomadic horseman
who fled hardscrabble beginnings to train "cheap horses." While
working in a second-tier horse barn in upstate New York, a runaway colt in his
care knocked over his quiet, unassuming coworker, Lisa Calley, with whom he
became instantly smitten--and vice-versa. Lisa, ten years younger than Tim, had
already survived a broken marriage, cancer and a traumatic brain injury from a
previous horse riding incident. Their shared passion for horses united them as
they built a married life together; her emotional sensitivity ultimately
softened his unsentimental rough edges.
When Lisa's cancer returned, she promised
Tim, "I'll see you again. I'm coming back as a horse." Her death left
a gaping hole in her husband until, years later, he scraped together enough
money to purchase a filly whose winning pedigree was offset by a sightless left
eye and congenital abnormalities in her left foot and shoulders. No one but Tim
believed she would ever make it to the starting gate. But "Lisa's Booby
Trap," as Tim named her, took the racing world by storm, and their bond
helped Tim rebound from grief and loneliness. He came to believe the filly's
personality reflected the sweet, resilient disposition of his late wife.
Layden
has teamed up with a variety of superstars to co-write many books, from Kobe Bryant of the NBA to heavy metal superstar, Dave Mustaine. In The Ghost Horse, Layden's writing shines
on its own - insight and compassion weaving the narrative threads of this dual
love story that transcends the boundaries of life and death.
St.
Martin's Press, $24.99 Hardcover, 9780312643324, 256 pp
Publication
Date: May 7, 2013
To order
this book via INDIEBOUND link HERE
Note:
This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review
on Shelf Awareness: Reader's
Edition (5/21/13), click HERE