Half Broke Horses

A True-Life Novel

By: Jeannette Walls

Narrated by: Jeannette Walls

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

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.

©2009 Jeanette Walls (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Lily Casey Smith is one astonishing woman...a half-broke horse herself who's clearly passed on her best traits to her granddaughter. Told in a natural, offhand voice that is utterly enthralling, this is essential reading for anyone who loves good fiction." ( Library Journal)

Wonderful historical fiction!

I loved hearing all about Lilly’s life! She’s such a multi-faceted person! Jeannette has quite an engaging voice & story telling style! I listened to the entire story in 1 day & hated for it to end. What a wonderful tribute to Lilly & a beautiful legacy to pass along in their family. It motivates me to want to write about the strong women in our family who came before me!

Well written and presented

The characters were real and interesting. The story was about an era in the not too distant past that has always been of interest to me. It reminded me of memories of my own grandmother that lived without electricity and other modern conveniences in her early life. I recommend it for all ages, but especially to people old enough to have their own memories of such times.

Vivid Story of Life in Early Arizona

What a vivid story of one woman’s family life in Texas and Arizona, w a short stint in Chicago thrown in.

Wild horses, breaking horses, flying an airplane, raising kids, scootin in and out of boarding schools, teaching in one-room schoolhouses, muscling through a great marriage on the range, in the ranches, hanging from trees when the flash floods hit …

This novel is mostly tru stuff and pure grit. Lily is a force and you will smile at each challenge she takes on and wrestles to the ground.

The author’s narration is delicious!!!

So relatable!

I was raised in a small town in Arizona and my own mother was born in 1919. Many of our neighbors could have been characters in this book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fabulous Book, Well Written & Read

A worthy follow up to her earlier work. The lean and gritty yet large as life characters were wonderfully drawn and honest to the place and time.

Growing up in small ranch towns out West, I was reminded a LOT of my Great Grandmother... from living in a dugout to running a ranch, and training horses from age 12 to well into her 80s. Her sister was known to sleep with a pearl handle pistol under her pillow, cooked for ranchands, loggers, and silver miners, --and read Zane Grey novels. We never knew which stories were real as she told tales in her later years..

This novel catches the absolute steel core of strength that was required of both men and women if they planned to live and raise families in really harsh landscapes. The scenes on Arizona, the canyons and spires made me a bit homesick..40 years in subtopics, but the dry open prairies and deserts still call me home.

You don't need to know these lands to enjoy the book If they are new to you, you may find an interest in a visit; or like some, just note with relief you don't have to live this harsh a life. Either way, this is a great book,

I'm sending a copy to my Gram..at 102, still living in her little ranch town in her own home. Since no large print format is available, she'll get out her magnifying glass and have it read in a day or two. I bet she'll love it as much as I did.

Lily's life

I loved the book! I will follow this author for a very long time.
I think her voice is wonderful to listen to. it's not monotoned like so many audio books are. She brings her Grandmother to life for sure.

Loved Ms. Walls Memoir So Much More

This book was an interesting read (or listen) because of the fortitude of the main character. It was also historically interesting, in terms of the dynamic of the TX, AZ and NM land over the last century or so. I just couldn't help to compare it to the real, heart-wrenching story of the author and her own memoirs. They were so real, so sad, and so loving. I yearned for more detail about Jeanette's mother, Rosemary, and an explanation of how her childhood formulated her into the kind of drifting mother she was. I never quite found it. Also, would have really enjoyed another narrator. Ms. Walls read more with factually than perhaps someone who was reading the text to whom it was more novel.

Very Engaging

This is very much worth a listen. I recently finished "Glass Castle" and wanted more. Although not an immediate tie in with GC, this story seems to easily relate to GC since you know you are finding out about Wall's grandmother - and the prime influence on her mother. Helps to make sense out of GC if that is of interest to you. If not, it is still an interesting story of a tough and self-reliant woman making a go of it in the early 1900's in Arizona and New Mexico.

Entertaining and inspiring!

I thought this was a great audiobook! I found Jeannette Walls' narration very strong. Her depiction in first person of her grandmother was fascinating. It's a great profile of a tough, incredibly innovative, goal-oriented woman who serves as an amazing role model, even for women today. By the way, I earlier read (not listened) to The Glass Castle. I found Half Broke Horses a terrific follow up.

Great Book

I loved this book and have recommended it to everyone. It is a must read/listen. I am glad I picked this one first and now listening to "The Glass Castle"