Falling for Eli: How I Lost Heart, Then Gained Hope, Through the Love of a Singular Horse

In this bittersweet memoir, former Associated Press correspondent Shulins (Every Day I Love You More (Just Not Today)), following multiple failed fertility treatments, relinquishes her dream of having a biological child. After her husband’s coworker allows her to meet his horses, Shulins rekindles her childhood love of riding. Though her first horse, Frank, must be put down, Shulins soon finds the titular Eli, a thoroughbred who becomes her riding partner. The mothers on her street, whom she avoided, throw her a “bridle” shower and Shulins realizes that her love for Eli is similar to the love between a mother and child. Eli’s accidents and illnesses challenge Shulins, and force her to evaluate why Eli means so much to her and reflect on how she has changed since owning him. Shulins proves to be a vulnerable, winning narrator in this story of redemption. Agent: Susanna Einstein, Einstein-Thompson Agency. (May)