miracle

Jane Schwartz, a very talented writer and our very dear friend, has a moving piece in today's New York Times about Barbaro, the horse who broke down at this weekend's Preakness Stakes.

Jane is the author of Ruffian: Burning From The Start, a riveting, heartbreaking, beautifully written book. (It was published, I may add, long before the general public ever heard of Seabiscuit.) Ruffian is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the world of horse racing, and about as moving a story as you can imagine.

From today's story:
At the medical center where Barbaro was being treated, people left signs for the colt, expressing their love for him.

Perhaps the real miracle — the one that matters to all of us, whether we know it or not — is that so many of us are still capable of caring so much.
Read it here. (And read Jane's book!)

Comments

  1. andrea22 May 2006 at 08:28

    I was so glad that I missed yesterday's Preakness; it's weird because I *never* miss the Triple Crown races. I can't even read the book about Ruffian because I was about 14 when she exploded on the scene and even thinking about her story now makes me tear up. Thanks for the link.

    ReplyDelete
  2. laura k22 May 2006 at 08:35

    If you like Ruffian, don't miss this book.

    I'll tell you what I told Allan before he read it: don't read the ending in public. Be home with a big box of tissues.

    But despite the heartbreaking ending, it is such a good book. It is a celebration of these magnificent creatures, race horses.

    Andrea, this reminds me, one of the cities we were near in Peru is a centre for a certain kind of show horse event called Caballos de Paso. Do you know about this? The town is Trujillo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. allan22 May 2006 at 09:22

    And Jane's first book -- Caught (published in 1985) -- is also excellent. It's hard to find a copy, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. laura k22 May 2006 at 09:25

    I knew Caught before we knew Jane! A terrific book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. andrea22 May 2006 at 15:17

    I figured that I'm a big enough girl now to read the book, so I just ordered it from the library...

    I haven't heard of the event but I love the elegance of the Peruvian Paso and Paso Fino horses. I'm supposing it's a kind of dressage display?

    ReplyDelete

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