
Half Broke Horses
A True-Life Novel
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Narrated by:
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Jeannette Walls
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By:
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Jeannette Walls
About this listen
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 & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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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
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Story
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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Unputdownable
- By Lesley A. on 01-16-16
By: Ruth Wariner
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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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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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A classic book *and* a classic audiobook
- By Karen on 01-30-03
By: Frank McCourt, and others
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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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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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Entertaining but Frustrating
- By Nikki on 09-01-21
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The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women
- Stories of Landscape and Community in the Mountain South
- By: Kami Ahrens
- Narrated by: Reyna Star
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Foxfire Magazine, a literary journal first published in 1967 in Rabun Gap, Georgia, was founded on the belief that stories and meaning could be found in Appalachian spaces, not only in classics such as Shakespeare. Filled with poetry and prose from local students and authors, the magazine also featured interviews with relatives and neighbors. These oral histories conducted by students from the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School quickly became the star of the magazine. Now, pulled from the vast Foxfire archive, come twenty-one oral histories from southern Appalachian women.
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Great stories. Needs better narration
- By Mhall1111 on 01-02-25
By: Kami Ahrens
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Etched in Sand
- A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island
- By: Regina Calcaterra
- Narrated by: Regina Calcaterra
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In this story of perseverance in the face of adversity, Regina Calcaterra recounts her childhood in foster care and on the streets and how she and her savvy crew of homeless siblings managed to survive years of homelessness, abandonment, and abuse. Regina Calcaterra's emotionally powerful memoir reveals how she endured a series of foster homes and intermittent homelessness in the shadow of the Hamptons, and how she rose above her past while fighting to keep her brother and three sisters together.
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Big eye-opener about our Foster Care system
- By Jo L. on 09-14-16
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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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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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real life
- By Richard M. on 10-05-22
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The Boy They Tried to Hide
- The true story of a son, forgotten by society
- By: Shane Dunphy
- Narrated by: Shane Dunphy
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The Boy They Tried to Hide is the startling true account of how truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.... Shane Dunphy was working as a resource teacher in a rural town when he was approached by the mother of one of his pupils, seeking help. She is worried for her troubled young son, who has been found leaving the house late at night to go deep into the woods near their home. He has spoken of meetings with a friend, Thomas, but no one else has seen him or knows who he is.
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Gripping
- By BSUforever on 10-13-17
By: Shane Dunphy
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'Tis
- By: Frank McCourt
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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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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Marvelous
- By Tony on 02-05-06
By: Frank McCourt
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Teacher Man
- By: Frank McCourt
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Now here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited audiobook about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs, and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City.
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For the teachers
- By RockyToTheMoon on 11-30-05
By: Frank McCourt
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Nearly Normal
- Surviving the Wilderness, My Family and Myself
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In her best-selling memoir North of Normal, Cea wrote with grace about her unconventional childhood - her early years living in a tipi in Alberta with her pot-smoking, free-loving counterculture family. But her struggles do not end when she leaves her family at the age of 13 to become a model. Honest and daring, Nearly Normal reveals the many ways that Cea's unconventional childhood continues to reverberate through the years.
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This one is just not for me
- By Pamela Plimpton on 03-15-19
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Out of the Darkness
- The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson
- By: Eric A. Shelman
- Narrated by: Deb Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In New York City, in April of 1874, a most unusual event took place. A severely abused nine-year-old girl named Mary Ellen Wilson became the first child in America to be rescued from an abusive home. She had been beaten, burned, slashed with scissors, locked in a closet, and had never been outside of her tenement home in over 7 years. Thanks to the concern and dedication of a missionary named Etta Wheeler, the child was finally saved from her cruel captors.
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Harrowing Story
- By musa on 03-21-17
By: Eric A. Shelman
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Everything Is Fine
- A Memoir
- By: Vince Granata
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Vince Granata remembers standing in front of his suburban home in Connecticut the day his mother and father returned from the hospital with his three new siblings in tow. He had just finished scrawling their names in orange chalk on the driveway: Christopher, Timothy, and Elizabeth. Twenty-three years later, Vince was a thousand miles away when he received the news that would change his life - his younger brother, Tim, propelled by unchecked schizophrenia, had killed their mother in their childhood home.
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Brutal and Beautiful
- By 3dogknits on 07-14-21
By: Vince Granata
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The Horsewoman
- By: James Patterson, Mike Lupica
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Maggie Atwood and Becky McCabe, mother and daughter, both champion riders, vowed to never, ever, go up against one another. Until the tense, harrowing competitions leading to the Paris Olympics. Mother and daughter share a dream: to be the best horsewoman in the world. Coronado is Maggie’s horse. An absolutely top-tier Belgian warmblood. Sky is Becky’s horse. A small, speedy Dutch warmblood.
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Performed well, Exhausting Political References
- By Kelly E. Christensen on 01-13-22
By: James Patterson, and others
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Brave the Wild River
- The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
- By: Melissa L. Sevigny
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious and entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. With its churning waters and treacherous boulders, the Colorado was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. Journalists and veteran river runners boldly proclaimed that the motley crew would never make it out alive. But for Clover and Jotter, the expedition held a tantalizing appeal: no one had yet surveyed the plant life of the Grand Canyon, and they were determined to be the first.
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Taking women seriously in science
- By Black Hills ski fairy on 12-29-23
What listeners say about Half Broke Horses
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Overall
- Tracie
- 12-24-09
Inspired Work of Art
Jeannette Walls has captured the voice of her grandmother through this excellent novelization of her family history. An inspiring story for men and women alike. Less horrific than her first book (Glass Castle) but equally as engaging. In fact, if you have not read The Glass Castle-- read this first.
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3 people found this helpful
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- William
- 05-30-19
A more realistic little house on the prairie
Jeannette Walls writes the story of her grandmother, but since most of the material came from talking to her mother, and because she had to fill in some of the gaps with her own thoughts of what may have happened, she calls this a novel. Lily Casey Smith was born in a one-room dugout in west Texas in 1901 and later her family moved to a ranch in New Mexico. At 11, she was handling the workers, doing the hiring and firing. Her father had been kicked in the head by a horse when he was young and developed a slurred speech that was difficult to understand, but he was smart and read a lot and taught her much about the world. She learned to break horses, was a very good poker player, and became a school teacher. She rode her horse alone for two weeks across the desert to her first teaching job in Arizona and later as a mother of two, learned to be a bush pilot. It’s filled with stories of hardship and rough times, as well as the time when her father was carving a ham for Easter dinner in the dugout, a rattlesnake dropped from the ceiling onto the table, which her father quickly beheaded with the carving knife. She went to Chicago to get away from the rural life and worked as a maid. She met a man and eventually married him. He was a salesman who spent a lot of time on the road, but when Lily was hit by a car and was in the hospital, she found that he actually did not travel, but was married and had another family across town. When that marriage was annulled, she went back west to teach and met and married Jim Smith. She and Jim eventually managed a large cattle ranch for its British owners, but this was during the depression. She scrounged for everything they needed, making chairs and tables out of crates and they managed it well. Then the investors decided to sell the ranch to someone who would end up making it a sort of early dude ranch, and they didn’t fit the right “cowboy” image, so that had to leave. Jim went into business with a garage and gas station and they finally were able to have a real house with running water and a flush toilet. Her father, when he heard, said, “Why would anyone want to crap in their own home.” It just seemed so uncivilized. When they lost the business, they had to move out to manage another ranch with only a broken down house, without running water and she says that she discovered that many of the things that you think you need, are just wants, and when you don’t have them, you find that you don’t need them and get by just fine. Now, that’s a lesson for today. Very interesting book, in some ways reminiscent of “Little House on the Prairie,” but rougher, more realistic, and less idealistic; making it much better to me.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Rebecca
- 02-09-19
One of my favorite books EVER
the storytelling is spectacular, the beautiful story is so touching and riveting. This was one of the best books I've ever read. Jeannette storytelling is full of reality and love, I felt like I was right alongside Lily in all of her fascinating life's travels, triumphs, and heartbreaks. I read The Glass Castle first, and like this book as much or more! It says novel, but it's so easy to see that this is what the story really was. Heartfelt thanks and congratulations for writing amd narrating this beautiful masterpiece, Jeannette Walls!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Mike
- 06-24-11
Half Broke Horses great
I liked My Antonia because of the historical information. This is similar and better because of the modern references. I recommend this to anyone who likes U.S. history in the 20th century. The author narrating is fine. Some didn't like it, but I did.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Carlos
- 07-30-15
Heartwarming and endearing
I really appreciate the book being narrated by the author. I had read the glass castle and gave it my own voice in my head so hearing about Lily's life in 19th century America directly from the author really fit well. I think the story is fun and heartwarming written in a clear and fluid manner and I would recommend it to any listener who is in historical fiction or interesting novels with strong female leads.
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- T
- 08-25-17
Couldn't stop listening
Jeanette Walls is an amazing writer and narrator and this book doesn't disappoint. I loved listening to the story of her grandmother and living in Arizona myself, I loved listening to the history of Arizona.
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- zhanna lyashchuk
- 09-04-18
Half Broke Horses
Great story. Told as is. Was not buttered up. Only negative thing I have to say is, there were some missing pieces in the audiobook that are in the book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-18-17
I love family stories
I loved listening to this inspiring and interesting book. Lily is a great example of a strong authentic woman.
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- Donna
- 12-29-11
i am now a total Jeanette Walls fan!
If you could sum up Half Broke Horses in three words, what would they be?
what a story!
What did you like best about this story?
i liked that Lilly's second husband, Jim Smith, was such a decent hard-working guy.
What about Jeannette Walls’s performance did you like?
there is an honesty in her voice. she is extremely pleasing to listen to.
Who was the most memorable character of Half Broke Horses and why?
Lilly - Grandma Smith. what a character!
Any additional comments?
read both of Jeanette books
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- Anne
- 09-02-12
Very interesting book!
Interesting story of a woman from childhood to being a grandmother. I recommend it for anyone who would enjoy looking into an earlier generation in America.
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