Long Shot

This dramatic memoir of an African American woman jockey with bipolar disorder could easily be turned into a movie of the week. You name it, Sylvia Harris has lived through it. The daughter of an army sergeant and Vietnam War veteran with an alcohol problem, who drinks too much herself, she has borne three children out of wedlock and lost custody of them, been homeless, suffered from manic depression, been physically abused by a lover, taken lithium, and fallen off a racehorse, breaking enough body parts to be unable to ride for nearly a year [...] readers, though, will focus on how Harris' love for horses helped her gain control over life. Harris can be frustrating, but she is honest, and this is a truly compelling tale of the havoc mental illness can wreak and how a passion can lead to healing.
--Karen Springen