The Yard
Price as reviewed:
£12.99
Author: Grace Olsen
Published: 2022
Available as paperback, Kindle or Audiobook
View now at amazon.co.uk
About The Yard
The Yard by Grace Olson features the comical tales of a new mum on her journey from post-natal depression to the dawning of her self-worth as she discovers adventure, friendship and the healing power of horses.
Join Grace as she battles her negative thought patterns and fears amongst a backdrop of eccentric characters, pampered farm animals and the glorious Yorkshire countryside.
Wisdom comes from unexpected sources leading Grace to a psychological and spiritual awakening of the true meaning of motherhood. While an elderly, opinionated pony teaches her how to love her daughter, a scary young sports horse teaches her how to relax and enjoy life again. Just watch out for the goats…
For fans of James Herriot and Ruby Ferguson’s Jill books, The Yard is a hilarious and heart-warming, feel-good read.
The Yard review
This an entertaining yarn featuring a post-natal mum, fabulously charismatic horses and ponies, and a handful of almost incredibly zany human personalities – set in that hotbed of characters, tempers and baggage that many of us know all too well: the livery yard.
It’s written in an autobiographical style, although some of the characters Grace comes across would have to be seen to be truly believed! You’re drawn into Grace’s life, her battle with post-natal depression, her quest to inject some meaning into her life, right from the first page. Her escapades vary from the mundane to the extraordinary and downright hilarious, but they are held together by the subtitle: “How a horse healed my heart”. Spoiler alert, it’s not just one, but several, each with their own special story, which tug at your heartstrings at the same time as making you laugh out loud.
I admit I was intrigued to see how a story of healing from depression was going to be genuinely comical, as opposed to dark humour. But Grace writes with a simple lightness of touch, and you find yourself increasingly cheering her on as she mends physically and mentally. Her initial inexperience around horses makes her challenges somewhat breathtaking, yet it pales into comparison with some of the other “riders” – such as the lady who buys two terrorising Fell ponies fresh off the hill and can never catch them again.
Many of the characters are surely caricatures – the dashing gay guy, “green-haired Alex” who feeds everyone magical herbs, and one mad yard owner, the opera-loving Valerie, who dresses her chickens and donkeys in jumpers, and drives her Shetlands to the supermarket shop – and there’s plenty of slapstick comedy with riders falling into muddy swamps, but there’s a charm to them all.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read. The setting, passion for horses and crazy characters will be familiar to many horse owners, but portrayed in a fun, exaggerated way that will keep you entertained throughout. And on a deeper level than light comedy, there’s a heartwarming undercurrent for the many of us who have felt the healing power of animals.
View now at amazon.co.uk
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