Jul
7
10:00pm
Year of the Horses with Courtney Maum
By Fountain Bookstore
UnlistedCourtney's beautiful memoir was an instant staff pick for Kelly! Courtney will be in conversation with Mira Ptacin about her deeply personal story and the healing power of animals.
About the Book:
At the age of thirty-seven, Courtney Maum finds herself in an indoor arena in Connecticut, moments away from stepping back into the saddle. For her, this is not just a riding lesson, but a last-ditch attempt to pull herself back from the brink even though riding is a relic from the past she walked away from. She hasn’t been on or near a horse in over thirty years.
Although Maum does know what depression looks like, she finds herself refusing to admit, at this point in her life, that it could look like her: a woman with a privileged past, a mortgage, a husband, a healthy child, and a published novel. That she feels sadness is undeniable, but she feels no right to claim it. And when both therapy and medication fail, Courtney returns to her childhood passion of horseback riding as a way to recover the joy and fearlessness she once had access to as a young girl. As she finds her way, once again, through the world of contemporary horseback riding―Courtney becomes reacquainted with herself not only as a rider but as a mother, wife, daughter, writer, and woman. Alternating timelines and braided with historical portraits of women and horses alongside history’s attempts to tame both parties, The Year of the Horses is an inspiring love letter to the power of animals―and humans―to heal the mind and the heart.
About the Author:
Courtney is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. You can sign up for her free publishing newsletter at CourtneyMaum.com
Mira Ptacin is the author of the award-winning memoir “Poor Your Soul” and the feminist history “The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna.” She teaches creative nonfiction at Colby College and memoir writing at the Maine Correctional Center. Mira lives on a small island off the coast of Maine with her family. www.miraMptacin.com
hosted by
Fountain Bookstore