After swapping a high-flying job in London for freelance life in Goa, Lisa struggles to control the tide of emotions that hit her as the dark horses of menopause descend. She begins to question whether her new life – living the dream with a younger man – is all she hoped it would be.
When the pandemic hits, Lisa decides that the universe has made the decision for her and back in England, she falls for the charms of a man her own age. However, when they embark on hiking adventures together, she discovers he is not who he appears to be. Neither are the friends she’d hoped would support her when she publishes her first book and releases her secrets for all the world to see.
After hiking her way round her homeland in North Wales, Lisa is reunited with ‘The Most Handsome Man in Goa’ before embarking on a solo trip of a lifetime to Rajasthan. But back in the UK, she is forced to confront her dark horses alone when her health and hormones threaten to derail the new life she has built for herself.
This is a story of midlife reinvention, of friendships, relationships and a working life all put to the test by the seismic effects of menopause. But it is also a story of love and homecoming. It is about the healing power of walking in nature, the therapeutic process of writing, and one woman’s determination to redefine what success and happiness look like.
Review
Having loved the author’s first book Cheat Play Live, I was delighted when she contacted me to read and review her second book Dark Horses Ride. Once again I was blown away by her honesty and the way she writes a book that reaches out to the reader and says, it really is okay, to be ‘you’. She has been though a lot, she acknowledges she has made mistakes, but she has come through it and now is living a life, that so many women shrink away from, fearing the judgment of others. This book, charts the authors continuing journey to self acceptance, though littered with many dips in the road, is essentially one of the most empowering books around for women not just going through the menopause, but for those approaching this point in their lives.
For me it is her honesty that makes this book such a remarkable read. She discusses her relationship with a younger man, exploring and debunking the assumptions that is remarkably held by so many women, that it is in some way unhealthy. Not a judgment often held when an older man dates a much younger woman. She respects herself and her needs, her feelings and shows us that with an open mind, communication and respect, that such relationships can work, can be healthy and rewarding. She flips the assumptions so many have and opens us to the fact, that by seeking to conform to societies expectations we close ourselves off from life choices that could make us happy, content and fulfilled.
Many have judged her, she has lost friends, just because she was brave enough to explore why she ended up in a loveless marriage, a job that left her stressed and on the point of a breakdown and choice to prioritise the things that make her happy. I have recently finished Mary Beards- Women and Power – A Manifesto in which she discusses not just men seek to keep women within set definitions of gender roles, by other women to and what makes Lisa Edwards writing so remarkable, is that she walked away from these negative expectations and created a life, where she was in charge of her life. It took time and that is what this book is about, the journey took, the price it cost her, but ultimately how it enabled her stand up and say, I know what is good for me and if that offends you, then I can’t live a lie to keep up appearances.
You can purchase this book from Amazon
About the author
Lisa Edwards is a former publisher who is now a freelance writer, editor and yoga teacher. She grew up in North Wales, but has lived mostly in southeast England. She lives in Worthing, West Sussex, where she lives alone and walks by the sea every day. She splits her time between the UK and India.
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