Susan Richards' Chosen Forever: A Heartwarming Novel About Love, Loss, and Life

Robert Lee: I enjoyed reading the authors two books. It gave some insight into the lives of authors. It was a little sad, very touching, but in the end it was life affirming.

Canada on Oct 21, 2023

L. Brooks: After reading "chosen by a horse" I couldn't wait to begin "chosen forever". It did not disappoint and I still find myself thinking of Susan. I'm rooting for her as she moves through her life and the losses of her beloved animals.
Animals are Susan's love, her nourishment. Writing is her raison d'etre. 'Chosen By a horse' fulfilled her passion by encompassing her love. This second book focused on getting her first book published and it's ensuing promotional tours. They allow her to reconnect with old friends and family and eventually lead her to meet, again, the man who will become her husband. As with her previous book, I don't always agree with the decisions Susan makes but I understand them and I care about her. She has opened her private thoughts and made herself vulnerable which is a courageous thing to do. After finishing the book, I googled her husband only to discover that,once again, loss and grieving has come to her. I'm still rooting for her and hope the resilience she has within her and her happy memories will provide what she needs to move forward again.

United States on Nov 08, 2016

miggiemagpie: I literally devoured this book. Having read "Chosen By A Horse" and "Saddled..." by this author, I couldn't have been more excited to find this book by her. It's the moving account of the author's success in getting "Chosen By A Horse" published, and the unexpected challenges that came with that success; book tours, book signings, traveling to these events and leaving behind her beloved pets, being front and center for the first time in her life. It is achingly honest and forthright about the many twists and turns in her life that brought her to this point. But best of all, we get to read about the unexpected meeting between Susan and Dennis Stock, the man from whom she had purchased her home over two decades earlier, and the unfolding of a courtship of which the author was skeptical and not even sure she wanted. It is about finding love after figuring out who we really are, what we're willing to compromise on, and what are clearly the deal-breakers. It's about kismet, and unmistakeable signs. It's about slowing down, savoring life and paying attention when the miracles are happening. A must read for anyone who has dreams, maybe unspoken even to themselves, and how life will work...

United States on Aug 08, 2015

slikkiv: I read Susan Richards other book (Chosen by a horse) which I enjoyed a great deal. This one was very interesting and I would recommend it to others, but the story line (or memoir) was a little unstructured, and not what I was expecting.

United Kingdom on Aug 16, 2013

LEDK: Read the first books before this one! This author has won my heart and my mothers - who isn't a huge horse fan! She absorbs her readers!

Canada on Jun 03, 2013

meganwonderdog: Susan writes as I would expect her to speak, from the heart! Beautifully written, this book brings you along for the ride - you know what will happen but you enjoy being an observer and feel every emotion she confronts on her journey.

Susan is an inspiration, she feels like an old friend, she is well deserving of the bright future she should have always known she would someday achieve!

United Kingdom on Aug 08, 2011

Tracey: Having read Chosen by a horse, and found it such an interesting story, i couldn't resist the follow up of Chosen Forever, again a very interesting read, showing that from an unhappy childhood through to a not too confident adult life,it is possible to find love and ultimately happiness. Do read both books to understand the whole heartwarming story

United Kingdom on Mar 10, 2010

Zooey: I bought Chosen By A Horse and looking at the cover, I knew it would be a tear-jerker, which I usually avoid but something really drew me to buying it. Well, I could not put it down and finished it within twenty four hours. I had a really bad crying headache as I sobbed my heart out at the end. This resulting headache reminded me why I avoid these types of animal stories! For the next few days I cried every time I thought about the story. Susan Richards beautifully captures each moment and brings the reader right along with her. I don't even like horses and I loved reading that memoir.

So I couldn't help myself and went to Susan's web page only to discover that she had written a sequel to this memoir titled Chosen Forever. I immediately ordered it and, again, read it in a day. What a wonderful, satisfying sequel! I loved every detail of her continuing story and the changes that occurred due to her being so deeply touched by Lay Me Down.

Both books are a must read. I especially recommend these two books to single women over fifty or as a gift for someone in that category. The life changes that occur deeply affected the author and led her to finding the love she never...

United States on Nov 04, 2009

Judy Creator "JB": I thoroughly enjoyed this book. To know that Susan had such adversity in her life,
but managed to overcome it, even though it took so many years, was amazing to me.
He lifelong friendships that meant so much to her, even though they might not have
been there everyday. I can relate to her withdrawn personality. To know that this
is a true story always draws my attention. I loved her first book, 'Chosen By a Horse', as I have always loved reading stories about animals and how they affect
personal lives. 'Chosen Forever' was disappointing to me at first, as I thought it
might be a follow up on her horses, with more interaction, but as I read on, I was
intrigued by her story. I'm so glad that I bought both books by Susan Richards. They were a lesson on life.

United States on Aug 08, 2009

Lloyd D. Richards: Susan Richards' fluid writing style gracefully transitions between the present -- the book tour readings in which she speaks from her precious and towering debut memoir, Chosen By A Horse -- and the ever-threatening past which looms darkly in the form of a very real sense that she doesn't belong and is undeserving of this praise for her writing, and then fears, what if no one should come (to a book reading)? Never forgotten in this her second book is the shining effect of her fallen horse heroes who, constantly share mind space in the stiller water moments of her daily life. Where human caregivers often abandoned her as a child, the horses carried her in those dark days following a second failed marriage. Although not untrammeled by her life's many despairing moments, Richards unexpectedly finds romance at one of her readings in the form of a man captivated by her as so many readers were by the sheer heart and inspiration found in the expression of the author toward her horse, Lay Me Down, in her debut memoir. Richards overcomes her self doubts and unbridled fears and embraces this man with a sense of destiny, as she explains it. And the way she ultimately chooses to her heart --...

United States on May 27, 2008