My Animals and Other Family

Balding, Clare

ISBN 10: 0241963451 ISBN 13: 9780241963456

Publisher: Penguin, 2012

Synopsis

This is the unabridged audio book edition of "My Animals and Other Family", Clare Balding's wildly funny and deeply moving childhood memoir, read by the author herself. 'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and I suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine' Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. As her father is a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen. She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs. From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky Hattie, each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to play. The running family joke was that "women ain't people". Clare had to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say. "My Animals and Other Family" is a funny, brave, tender story of self-discovery.

About this title

Review:

Simply fabulous (Jilly Cooper)

Moving, funny, and larger than life. Bravo! (Michael Morpurgo)

About the Author:

When she was young, Clare Balding thought she was a dog. Disappointed to discover she was only human, she did her best to spend every waking hour with dogs and ponies. She could ride before she could walk and, growing up surrounded by racehorses trained by her father, she dreamt of winning the Grand National or riding for Great Britain at the Olympics.

Those dreams never came true but the consolation prize hasn't been bad. As a television and radio presenter, Clare has worked at six Olympic Games, the highlight being London 2012, as well as the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup.

Clare lives in London with her wife, Alice, and their very naughty dog, Archie.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0241963451
• ISBN 13: 9780241963456
• Binding: Audio CD