Week 8: Assignment 4

Chosen By a Horse by Susan Richards  636.1 R

Chosen By a Horse is a beautifully written story about a women who is hurting after loosing her mother at a very early age, was raised by uncaring relatives, married, suffered a divorce and has issue with alchol.  Lay Me Down, a horse rescued by the SPCA has been abused, underfed, has pneumonia and an eye infection.  Despite everything Lay Me Down has been through, she managed to teach Susan how to love despite a painful past.

This non-fiction memoir is written like a fiction book full of relationship issues, overcoming abuse and learning to live life to the fullest despite a painful past.  It takes place in New York.

My First Ladies by Nancy Clarke

Nancy Clarke worked as the head floral designer for the White House during six administrations. Her memoir reveals what it was like to work with each first lady, their personal styles and tastes and what it takes to put together a social event at the White House. Full of fun stories about each first lady, the reader gets a behind the scenes look at how the flowers are arranged for White House functions, how holiday decorations came together and how each first lady had very specific tastes in flowers.  Personal stories such as when Mrs. Regan found out she had breast cancer, throwing fake snow with the Bushes, preparing flowers for Jenna Bush's wedding, the bold, fun colors of Mrs. Clinton's social events and escaping to an underground bunker during the 911 White House evacuation.

For anyone who likes political fiction, this makes a fun read.  It's all real, but has the light humor of a fiction.