SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
‘Extraordinary, and a painful but invigorating read. I’ve never met anyone who has read it and doesn’t rank it as one of their favourite books.’ Dolly Alderton
‘This story – so fierce and brave and visceral and raw – will stay with me forever. Clover Stroud is a force of nature, and a woman who is fearless in the face of life and death. I loved it.’ Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love
‘There is so much richly evoked life here… beautifully written.’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Times
‘This redemptive memoir will steal your heart; it will return it bruised but emboldened.’ Mail on Sunday
‘I have huge admiration for the spirit of this memoir, and its author: full of heart, bravery and adventure. A moving, gripping read.’ Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun
Clover Stroud grew up in rural Wiltshire surrounded by animals and family. When she was just sixteen her adored mother had a horrific riding accident which left her permanently brain-damaged, and suddenly Clover was left to fend for herself. She embarked on an extraordinary journey to heal her broken heart, courting men and danger through two marriages and five children.
The Wild Other is a grippingly honest account of love, sex and travelling to the darkest edges of human experience and back again. Powerful and deeply emotional, this is the story of an extraordinary life lived at its fullest.
‘Extraordinary, and a painful but invigorating read. I’ve never met anyone who has read it and doesn’t rank it as one of their favourite books.’ Dolly Alderton
‘This story – so fierce and brave and visceral and raw – will stay with me forever. Clover Stroud is a force of nature, and a woman who is fearless in the face of life and death. I loved it.’ Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love
‘There is so much richly evoked life here… beautifully written.’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Times
‘This redemptive memoir will steal your heart; it will return it bruised but emboldened.’ Mail on Sunday
‘I have huge admiration for the spirit of this memoir, and its author: full of heart, bravery and adventure. A moving, gripping read.’ Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun
Clover Stroud grew up in rural Wiltshire surrounded by animals and family. When she was just sixteen her adored mother had a horrific riding accident which left her permanently brain-damaged, and suddenly Clover was left to fend for herself. She embarked on an extraordinary journey to heal her broken heart, courting men and danger through two marriages and five children.
The Wild Other is a grippingly honest account of love, sex and travelling to the darkest edges of human experience and back again. Powerful and deeply emotional, this is the story of an extraordinary life lived at its fullest.
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Reviews
A dazzling, searingly honest book. Love. Sex. Grief. The Wild West. I couldn't put it down.
A stunning story of courage in the face of fortune's cruellest blows, Clover Stroud's extraordinary memoir charts her journey from child to adult, from daughter to mother, proving that bravery - and love - will triumph even in the darkest situations.
An astonishing piece of work that at times made my heart burst. All of human life is contained in this book. Clover Stroud is a remarkable woman, and an incredible writer.
An extraordinary memoir... Stroud writes with moving, eloquent honesty.
An uplifting and achingly honest personal story about loss, trauma and grief.
Beautifully written and so moving ... a gritty, passionate, searingly honest meditation on grief, love and motherhood.
Beautifully written...I love this book.
Clover Stroud is a born writer: honest, tender, moving and true. A beautiful book.
Compelling and candid, deftly weaving together past and present... a heart-wrenching story told in haunting, lyrical prose.
Fearless, frank and so beautifully told, The Wild Other is a defiant story of love and motherhood in the face of loss. One of those books that makes you resolve to wring every last exhilarating drop from life while you can.
Heart-wrenching and beautifully written.
Horses, family ties, exotic lovers and beautiful writing all saddle up in this thoroughbred ride through love, loss, danger, motherhood and healing.
Shocking and sexy, yet tragic and touching too.
So haunting and brave and beautiful.
Some events can't be mitigated; they can only be endured with grace and style, something Stroud certainly achieves, to judge from this marvellous book.
There is so much richly evoked life here... beautifully written.
A startling and raw memoir, which has drawn comparisons to Cheryl Strayed's Wild... Brave, beautiful writing, which can't help but inspire us to find our own "wild others".
Enthralling
Some books have the power to make you reconsider certainties, to reflect, alter and transform previous assumptions about love, sex, freedom, friendship, courage and death. Clover Stroud's memoir, The Wild Other, is such a book
Stroud writes with considerable power, resonance and brutal honesty. The Wild Other will enthral anyone with wanderlust.
This heartfelt account begins with a young girl lost in the hinterlands of grief, and ends with a woman coming to terms with the wildness within herself.
A moving account of the tragic consequences of a horse-riding accident on a loving daughter.
A survivor's tale that is both redemptive and cathartic.
This redemptive memoir will steal your heart; it will return it bruised but emboldened.
I have huge admiration for the spirit of this memoir, and its author: full of heart, bravery and adventure. A moving, gripping read.
I can't recommend Clover Stroud's memoir The Wild Other enough. Stroud is a brilliant writer and has led a fascinating life.
I loved this beautiful, passionate, troubled book, which gallops courageously over difficult terrain. At once a wrenching account of a tragedy and a love letter to the solace provided by horses, Stroud's clear-eyed look at how wildness and domesticity have entwined in her life is both heartening and inspiring.