Talking Horse: How Equus Taught Me the Language of Hope

Talking Horse is one woman’s journey toward finding fortitude in the face of tragedy, and how horses inspired her to seek strength and hope over despair. In her memoir, Jacalyn Pierce details her experience with the death of her friend who bequeathed her two horses, and the subsequent loss of her home from a devastating wildfire in Colorado in 2012. With moments of levity, Pierce captures the small joys in a world full of loss and destruction. With this personal account, she provides hope to readers everywhere to find a little bit of light in the darkness.

Jacalyn Pierce is a former Health, Biology, and Environmental Sciences instructor who taught passionately about the importance of protecting the natural environment and living sustainably. She resides in rural Colorado, where drought and climate change-fueled wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense. Pierce continues to advocate for protections for Colorado’s wildlife and remaining wild spaces. She and her husband Randy live at 7,200 feet with horses, ducks, dogs, chickens, and a cat named Gimley.