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Half Broke Horses
- A True-Life Novel
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
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Half Broke Horses
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Editorial reviews
Based on the true story of the life of Jeanette Walls’ grandmother, Half-broke Horses is the endearing tale of Lily Casey Smith, a woman born into poverty in the early 1900s frontier of west Texas. Intelligent, despite her spotted 8th grade education, Smith knows her purpose on earth is more than just breaking-in horses on her daddy’s farm and she sets off across the desert at age 15 to teach children in Arizona. Smith is scrappy and independent, clearly a woman before her time. In her early 20s when she learns that the traveling salesman she married actually already has a wife and kids, she puts her six-shooter revolver with the pearl handle in her purse and hits him with it, giving him a good “pistol-whippin’”.
Walls, the best-selling author of her own memoir The Glass Castle, tells her grandmother’s story in a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense way probably much in same way as her grandmother shared these stories with her. It can be shocking that Smith speaks of her best friend’s death in the same tone as she does of, say, playing a hand of poker, but it’s realistic a snapshot of the era. In her narration, Walls’ accent is a bit mottled a little southern, with hints of other dialects thrown in which can be distracting at times, but it also suits Smith, a girl from west Texas who had an Irish father with a speech impediment.
Smith does find true happiness with her second husband and eventually settles down (if you can call selling whiskey during Prohibition by hiding it under her baby’s crib “settling down”). But this heroine’s adventures racing horses, surviving flash floods and tornadoes, and playing poker will stick with you long after Walls has finished describing them. Colleen Oakley
Publisher's summary
2010 Audie Award Finalist for Narration by the Author
Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" ( Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant.
"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls's no nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At 15, she left home to teach in a frontier town - riding 500 miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane. And, with her husband Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.
Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit.
Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. Destined to become a classic, it will transfix audiences everywhere.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,763
Why we think it’s a great listen: There’s no gentle way to put this – Frank McCourt’s performance of Angela’s Ashes is just better than the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Frank McCourt shares his sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking story of growing up poor, Irish, and Catholic in the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A classic book *and* a classic audiobook
- By Karen on 01-30-03
By: Frank McCourt, and others
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The Silver Star
- A Novel
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 916
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 797
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Story4 out of 5 stars 796
It is 1970. "Bean" Holladay is 12 and her sister, Liz, is 15 when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who flees every place she’s ever lived at the first sign of trouble," takes off to find herself." She leaves her girls enough money for food to last a month or two. But when Bean gets home from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz board a bus from California to Virginia, where their widowed Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying antebellum mansion that’s been in the family for generations.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A Bronze Star
- By Mel on 06-17-13
By: Jeannette Walls
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The Glass Castle
- A Memoir
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17,589
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15,273
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15,282
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination. Rose Mary painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family; she called herself an "excitement addict."
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4 out of 5 stars
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What's normal?
- By Kmrsy on 11-30-13
By: Jeannette Walls
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Hang the Moon
- A Novel
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 385
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 325
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Story4 out of 5 stars 325
Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Practically Unbearable
- By Autumn T. on 04-12-23
By: Jeannette Walls
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Hill Women
- Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains
- By: Cassie Chambers
- Narrated by: Cassie Chambers
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 645
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 564
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 561
After rising from poverty to earn two Ivy League degrees, an Appalachian lawyer pays tribute to the strong "hill women" who raised and inspired her, and whose values have the potential to rejuvenate a struggling region - an uplifting and eye-opening memoir for fans of Hillbilly Elegy and Educated.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Too Political
- By Mary V on 04-17-20
By: Cassie Chambers
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Running on Red Dog Road
- And Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood
- By: Drema Hall Berkheimer
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Story4 out of 5 stars 156
Gypsies, faith-healers, moonshiners, and snake handlers weave through Drema's childhood in 1940s Appalachia after her father is killed in the coal mines, her mother goes off to work as a Rosie the Riveter, and she is left in the care of devout Pentecostal grandparents. What follows is a spitfire of a memoir that feels like a novel with intrigue, sweeping emotion, and indisputable charm. Drema's coming of age is colored by tent revivals with Grandpa, poetry-writing hobos, and traveling carnivals, and through it all, she serves witness to a multi-generational family.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator’s attempt at a southern accent distracting to story
- By Ryan C. Bango on 01-05-22
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Angela's Ashes
- By: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,733
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7,768
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,763
Why we think it’s a great listen: There’s no gentle way to put this – Frank McCourt’s performance of Angela’s Ashes is just better than the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Frank McCourt shares his sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking story of growing up poor, Irish, and Catholic in the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A classic book *and* a classic audiobook
- By Karen on 01-30-03
By: Frank McCourt, and others
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Dish
- The Inside Story on the World of Gossip
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Abridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 26
Admit it, you gossip. Everybody does. But nobody does it as well as Hollywood insiders; they've elevated dishing the dirt to an art form. Now the ultimate insider, Jeannette Walls, serves up the biggest dish of all: a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the last five decades of Hollywood. Get the juice from the stars themselves below in "Celebrity Chat".
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3 out of 5 stars
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Okay
- By Debbie on 02-09-10
By: Jeannette Walls
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Appalachian Daughter
- By: Mary Jane Salyers
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 342
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 309
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
On the last day of eighth grade, Maggie begins to dream of finding a way to escape the drudgery and confinement of life in the hollow and establish her independence. Her plan begins to fall in place when she enters high school and discovers she has a natural talent for excelling in shorthand, typing, and other business classes. Meanwhile she spares no effort in helping her family continue to survive despite their poverty, a less than fertile few acres, and a family history of instability.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Heartwarming story
- By G'amazing on 12-22-19
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War and Turpentine
- A Novel
- By: Stefan Hertmans, David Mckay
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 183
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Story4 out of 5 stars 163
The life of Urbain Martien - artist, soldier, survivor of World War I - lies contained in two notebooks he left behind when he died in 1981. His grandson, a writer, retells his story, the notebooks giving him the impetus to imagine his way into the locked chambers of Urbain's memory. He vividly recounts a whole life: Urbain as the child of a lowly church painter, retouching his father's work; dodging death in a foundry; fighting in the war that altered the course of history, and much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Une Beauté Douloureux en Flandres
- By W Perry Hall on 10-24-16
By: Stefan Hertmans, and others
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We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It
- A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood
- By: Tom Phelan
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 96
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
In the tradition of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan’s We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s. We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Warning: you'll laugh and cry
- By danielle on 12-13-19
By: Tom Phelan
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'Tis
- By: Frank McCourt
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,576
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,979
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,969
Listen as Frank tells in his own inimitable voice his story of how at the age of 19 he traveled from Limerick to New York in pursuit of the American dream. Despite the abundance of unsolicited advice he gets to "join the cops" and "stick to his own kind", Frank knows that he should educate himself and somehow rise above his circumstances.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Marvelous
- By Tony on 02-05-06
By: Frank McCourt
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North of Normal
- A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 971
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 867
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 861
In the late 1960s, riding the crest of the counterculture movement, Cea's family left a comfortable existence in California to live off the land in the Canadian wilderness. But unlike most commune dwellers of the time, the Persons weren't trying to build a new society - they wanted to escape civilization altogether. Led by Cea's grandfather Dick, they lived a pot-smoking, free-loving, clothing-optional life under a canvas tipi without running water, electricity, or heat for the bitter winters.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining but Frustrating
- By Nikki on 09-01-21
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Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It
- By: Maile Meloy
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter, Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 455
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 393
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Story4 out of 5 stars 394
Eleven unforgettable new stories demonstrate the emotional power and the clean, assured style that have earned Meloy praise from critics and devotion from readers and listeners. Propelled by a terrific instinct for storytelling, and concerned with the convolutions of modern love and the importance of place, this collection is about the battlefields—and fields of victory—that exist in seemingly harmless spaces, in kitchens and living rooms and cars.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The beautiful ache of the unattainable
- By Ryan on 01-16-14
By: Maile Meloy
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Enemy Women
- By: Paulette Jiles
- Narrated by: Reba Buhr
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 175
The Colley family is made of modest farmers in the Missouri Ozarks. Although Southerners, the Colleys try to remain neutral, a fact ignored by the Union militia who confiscate their livestock, burn their farm, and arrest their daughter, Adair, on charges of “enemy collaboration”. Yet as this innocent young woman soon discovers, fate can have a double edge. While imprisoned, she falls in love with her interrogator, a Union major who helps her escape.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Might be better to read this one
- By sssnoo on 10-31-20
By: Paulette Jiles
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Refuge
- A Novel
- By: Dot Jackson
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 964
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 854
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 849
Early one morning in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele spontaneously packs a suitcase, gathers up her son and daughter, and drives away in her abusive and dissolute husband’s brand-new Auburn Phaeton automobile, leaving her privileged life in Charleston behind. It is the beginning of a journey of enlightenment that leads Mary “Sen” to the mountains and mysteries of Appalachia, where she will learn unexpected family secrets, create a new life for herself and her children, and finally experience love and happiness before tragedy will once again test her.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Southern Tale
- By B. Newman on 01-09-20
By: Dot Jackson
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The Sound of Gravel
- A Memoir
- By: Ruth Wariner
- Narrated by: Ruth Wariner
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,579
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,092
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,080
Ruth Wariner was the 39th of her father's 42 children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turned a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can ascend to heaven only by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unputdownable
- By Lesley A. on 01-16-16
By: Ruth Wariner
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The Kept
- A Novel
- By: James Scott
- Narrated by: Kate Udall
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 310
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 272
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 278
In the winter of 1897, Elspeth Howell treks across miles of snow and ice to the isolated farmstead in upstate New York where she and her husband have raised their five children. Her midwife's salary is tucked into the toes of her boots, and her pack is full of gifts for her family. But as she crests the final hill, and sees her darkened house and a smokeless chimney, immediately she knows that an unthinkable crime has destroyed the life she so carefully built.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A Beautiful, Bitter Pill
- By Caroline Sandlin on 01-17-14
By: James Scott
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River People
- By: Margaret Lukas
- Narrated by: Lauren Billingsley
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 486
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 434
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 431
In Nebraska, in the late 1890s, 17-year-old Effie and 11-year-old Bridget must struggle to endure at a time when women and children had few rights, and society looked upon domestic abuse as a private family matter. The story is told through the eyes of the girls as they learn to survive under grueling circumstances. River People is a novel of inspiration, love, loss, and renewal.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting book but difficult listen for animal lovers
- By kelly on 06-18-20
By: Margaret Lukas
What listeners say about Half Broke Horses
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lori
- 09-17-11
A good story
This is one I may have enjoyed better reading. Ms.Walls narration just didn't do much for me.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- fergievic
- 01-21-11
good but I was confused
Having read THE GLASS CASTLE first...which was great ...I got lost in the family genealogy and felt confused until the end when it was reveled by Jeannette's birth. The rich details really took me to the West and I DID learn alot of history I had not known.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie
- 04-08-15
Yes!!
This is such an excellent story and I loved reading it as a follow up of The Glass Castle. It totally gives you a picture of Rosemary as Jeanette's mother and where she came from. I love it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bonnie
- 01-30-12
Hardships of the early 1900s in the West.
What made the experience of listening to Half Broke Horses the most enjoyable?
The writer tells a wonderful story of her grandmother's life and a lot of interesting history of Arizona.
What did you like best about this story?
I like the way the author told a true story without it being an autobiography. Very, very clever.
Have you listened to any of Jeannette Walls’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
The Glass Castle is a must read (listen) after Half Broke Horses. I had listen to it before, but when back and listened again, with a different presective. I LOVE JEANNETTE WALL'S WORK.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
WORK HARD OR DIE
Any additional comments?
Jeannette Walls is right up there with some of the greats like Stephen King and James Patterson.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Conni P.
- 04-23-10
Gotta Read This One
Tough, touching, funny & captivating. Keeps your attention from cover to cover. Narration is top notch!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sonja
- 02-05-19
Great Story
Didn't want to stop listening. Great narrator. The character came to life as the story progressed.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Becky H
- 10-09-11
Awesome!
This was a great story! I looked forward to listening to it every day!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patricia
- 06-13-14
Outstanding book!
What did you love best about Half Broke Horses?
I loved everything about this book. The book is extremely well written. Great story and I love that it is based on the author's grandmother's actual life. I was sad that it had to end. Make certain that you listen to the very end because the author tells us about how she wrote the story. I really enjoyed that also.
Have you listened to any of Jeannette Walls’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I also listened to The Glass Castle. I thoroughly enjoyed both books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Terri Hill
- 10-04-18
Loved it!
I didn’t want it to end. I also loved “The Glass Castle”. I do wish I would have listened to this first though. I love Jeannette’s accent. It really felt like it could have been her grandmother speaking. I highly recommend this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Obaa
- 06-09-20
Telling it like it was
This was my second time reading this book. As usual or maybe it's just me, I always read something that I missed the first time around. The author, Jeannette Walls, was able to capture the down-to-earth realism in her grandmother and mother's stories. I like how the title of the book Half Broke Horses, was used throughout the book as good analogies of what was happening at the moment.
I highly recommend this book. If you are like me, you will find yourself crying and laughing all the way through it. Ms. Walls was correct in calling her book a true life novel.
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