The Horse Boy: A Memoir of Healing »

Rupert Isaacson was born in London to a South African mother and a Zimbabwean father. Isaacson's first book, The Healing Land (Grove Press), was a 2004 New York Times Notable Book. He has travelled extensively in Africa, Asia, and North America for the British press and now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Kristin, and their son, Rowan.

When his son Rowan was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson was devastated, afraid he might never be able to communicate with his child.But when Isaacson, a lifelong horseman, rode their neighbor's horse with Rowan, Rowan improved immeasurably. He was struck with a crazy idea: why not take Rowan to Mongolia, the one place in the world where horses and shamanic healing intersected?

THE HORSE BOY is the dramatic and heartwarming story of that impossible adventure. In Mongolia, the family found undreamed of landscapes and people, unbearable setbacks, and advances beyond their wildest dreams. This is a deeply moving, truly one-of-a-kind story—of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time.

Good Housekeeping

"A colorful real-life adventure with inspiring results."

Prologue 3

Part 1

1 The Seven-Year Child 7

2 Into the Inferno 16

3 The Horse Boy 35

4 A Time for Dreams 50

Part 2

5 The Adventure Begins 67

6 Lords of the Mountains, Lords of the Rivers 82

7 Mongolian Brother 97

8 West with the Rain 113

9 Fits and Starts 131

10 A Father's Mistake 150

11 Rowan I, Fear o 160

12 The Van Boy 175

13 Repairing the Wind Horse 193

14 The Heaven Horse Lake 207

15 Guinea Pigs of Moron 221

Part 3

16 Into Siberia 235

17 The White Ibex 251

18 Farther Up and Farther In 262

19 The Ghoste at the Top of the Mountain 276

20 A Hawk in the House 285

21 Interview with a Shaman 301

22 Miracle at the River 316

23 Four Minutes and Fifty-two Seconds 329

Epilogue 343

Acknowledgments 352

Reading Group Guide 358