To put you in the perspective of where I was, I had not left Washington, D.C., since 1990 because of vertigo, which has been a problem for me for most of the time I’ve had CFS. Hillenbrand: It took years to get ready to do this. But I’m doing it.Ĭostello: You moved from Washington, D.C., to Oregon. Once I got out here to Oregon, I got on a bike, which was another thing I was really into when I was healthy, and now I’m starting to ride a bike. I could do that.” Each one of those things that I did would make me feel like, “Maybe I can try the next thing.” It’s an extremely slow process, and sometimes I overstep and slip backwards. I started to test the boundaries and found out, “Well, I could do this. Hillenbrand: Everything has come together to give me a little bit of push. It’s a marvelous feeling to wed yourself to an animal of such strength.Ĭostello: It sounds like your life has taken a shift. Now I put on my helmet and my boots, and I just feel like I’m more of a normal person. It’s also therapeutic just as a physical accomplishment. That’s a great joy to me because it was something I did when I was a healthy person and I was younger.Ĭostello: Is horseback riding therapeutic for you? I’m doing much better now than I’ve done in years, and I’ve started riding horses. A life in which I’m not constrained in terms of what I want to do and not paying a huge price for what I do. What I think about is a life in which I don’t have to monitor my body. I think about if I could do this thing, if I could ride a bike for miles, or if I could climb to the top of the Empire State Building. Hillenbrand: I don’t really think about that as an aspiration, exactly. A big one is a move across the country to be with her boyfriend in Oregon, where she finds solace in afternoon car rides with views of resplendent Mount Hood.įor this special issue of Stanford Medicine on well-being, we were curious: What does the word “well” mean to someone who has been unwell for so long? Executive editor Paul Costello spoke with Hillenbrand about her illness, her newfound strengths and how she is leaving frailty behind.Ĭostello: Does the term “being well” register for you? There’s optimism in her voice and a sense of wonderment at new beginnings. A stylish cover will attract both baby boomers and young readers, tapping into the sexiness and allure of the ""Sport of Kings."" Hillenbrand's glamorous photo on the book jacket won't hurt her chances, and Seabiscuit should sell at a galloping pace.Recently, Hillenbrand has made a lot of changes in her medical treatments and in her life. (Mar.) Forecast: Despite the shrinking horse racing audienceDand the publishing adage that books on horse racing don't sellDthis book has the potential to do well, even outside the realm of the racing community, due to a large first printing and forthcoming Universal Studios movie. She roots her narrative of the horse's breathtaking career and the wild devotion of his fans in its socioeconomic context: Seabiscuit embodied the underdog myth for a nation recovering from dire economic straits. Hillenbrand deftly blends the story with explanations of the sport and its culture, including vivid descriptions of the Tijuana horse-racing scene in all its debauchery. Smith's secret workouts became legendary and only heightened Seabiscuit's mystique. Once Seabiscuit started breaking records and outrunning lead horses, reporters thronged the Howard barn day and night. Smith, who recognized Seabiscuit's potential, felt an immediate rapport with him and eased him into shape. In 1936, Howard united Smith, Pollard and ""The Biscuit,"" whose performance had been spottyDand the horse's star career began. She introduces esoteric recluse Tom Smith (Seabiscuit's trainer) and jockey Red Pollard, a down-on-his-luck rider whose specialty was taming unruly horses. In simple, elegant prose, she recounts how Charles Howard, a pioneer in automobile sales and Seabiscuit's eventual owner, became involved with horse racing, starting as a hobbyist and growing into a fanatic. Hillenbrand, a contributor to Equus magazine, profiles the major players in Seabiscuit's fantastic and improbable career. Not an overtly impressive physical specimenD""His stubby legs were a study in unsound construction, with huge, squarish, asymmetrical `baseball glove' knees that didn't quite straighten all the way""Dthe horse seemed to transcend his physicality as he won race after race. Though no longer a household name, Seabiscuit enjoyed great celebrity during the 1930s and 1940s, drawing record crowds to his races around the country. HGifted sportswriter Hillenbrand unearths the rarefied world of thoroughbred horse racing in this captivating account of one of the sport's legends.
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