- ASIN: B01MQHKNDA
- Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books
- Publication date: May 1, 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 258 pages
- ISBN-13: 978-1570765797
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs of Women
The BookViral Review:
There are books about horses, there are books about travel, and there are memoirs that explore the complexities of family. Riding Barranca succeeds because it never allows itself to be confined to just one of those categories. Instead, Laura Chester creates something more reflective and enduring—a literary memoir in which every ride becomes both a physical journey through remarkable landscapes and an emotional passage toward reconciliation.
Structured as a journal spanning the seasons, the narrative moves between Arizona, Massachusetts, Mexico, Australia, Wisconsin and India, but the true destination is always emotional rather than geographical. Although Chester rides different horses during her overseas journeys, Barranca remains the enduring heart of the memoir. Their partnership, explored primarily across the trails of Arizona and Massachusetts, provides the steady rhythm that anchors the narrative and illuminates the book’s deeper exploration of memory, loss and forgiveness.
Chester possesses an observant, lyrical style that captures the natural world with impressive clarity. Her descriptions rarely feel ornamental. Instead, the changing seasons, shifting light and expansive landscapes mirror the emotional terrain she is navigating. The Arizona desert feels both beautiful and unforgiving, while the forests of Massachusetts provide moments of calm reflection. Nature is never simply scenery; it becomes an active participant in the memoir.
Running alongside the riding journal is a second, more intimate narrative. Memories of childhood, the decline of her mother through Alzheimer’s disease, the death of her father and the lingering wounds of difficult family relationships surface organically throughout the book. Rather than interrupting the riding accounts, these recollections emerge naturally, prompted by a trail, a landscape or a quiet moment in the saddle. This alternating structure gives the memoir considerable emotional depth without becoming sentimental.
Perhaps the memoir’s most compelling quality is its honesty. Chester neither idealises nor vilifies those around her. Family relationships are presented with all their contradictions—love existing alongside resentment, grief alongside gratitude. As the memoir progresses, forgiveness emerges not as a dramatic revelation but as a gradual process earned through reflection rather than easy resolution. The emotional payoff feels authentic because the author never attempts to simplify the complexity of memory.
Horse lovers will naturally appreciate the wealth of equestrian detail. Chester writes with genuine authority about horsemanship, trail riding and the personalities of her horses, yet this is never an instructional book. Readers with little or no riding experience will still find themselves invested because the horses function as fully realised companions rather than props. Barranca, in particular, becomes a steady emotional presence, offering constancy when human relationships prove far more uncertain.
The episodic journal format occasionally produces an uneven rhythm, with some entries serving more as quiet observations than dramatic episodes. Readers expecting a tightly plotted memoir may find its reflective pacing deliberate. Yet this measured approach ultimately reinforces one of the memoir’s central ideas: healing is rarely achieved through a single transformative event but through countless ordinary moments accumulated over time.
Beautifully written and deeply contemplative, Riding Barranca is ultimately a meditation on companionship, memory and the restorative power of both nature and animals. Laura Chester reminds us that the most meaningful journeys are often those that lead inward, and that sometimes the surest guide through life’s most difficult terrain walks on four patient legs.
For readers who appreciate literary memoirs, thoughtful nature writing and authentic stories exploring the bond between humans and horses, Riding Barranca offers an emotionally rewarding experience that lingers long after the final ride.
It is an unreservedly recommended Golden Quill Read.
