The Ride of Her Life

The Ride of Her Life

“In November 1954, Annie took her dog and got on a horse and started riding. Destination: California.” And so began The Ride of Her Life.

Annie is poor. Dirt poor. After being in the hospital and given two to four years left to live, Annie’s sole goal is to live until Social Security started. For sixty-three-year-old Annie those two years seemed far off. Unable to pay the taxes on the Maine farm her ancestors purchased seventy-five years ago, Annie had no relatives to turn for help. She had a wild plan, go to California by horseback. Five thousand miles away. She just had to get a horse…

I loved this inspiring and heartfelt tale. Annie is a true adventurer despite her advanced age, poor health, and dire poverty. And the people of America in the mid-fifties were so helpful. The landscape described here is mostly gone except for a few sad remnants of Route 66. While the tale is a biographical memoir, it also shines a light on how different everything was only seventy years ago. Horses traveling on a California freeway? It is hard to even imagine it.

The Ride of Her Life has everything: a look back into America’s past, an inspiring journey, and the value of dreams and hope. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Ballantine Books, Random House, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

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