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Table of Contents
About The Book
Fans of Lori Gottlieb’s, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, and horse lovers alike will appreciate this therapist’s intimate journey in “the other chair” as she strives to untangle the trauma from her equestrian childhood that now threatens her marriage.
Raw and riveting, Girl, Groomed is seasoned psychotherapist Carol Odell’s evolving story of coming to terms with the impacts of her own history of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of a predatory horse trainer who, for far too much of her young life, held all the reins. Set in the equestrian world of Virginia, this candid memoir details how, starting at ten years old, Carol falls under the spell of Clarentine, the charismatic—and explosively violent—owner of the stables just down the hill from her house. In tandem with that story, Carol examines the multi-faceted consequences of the complex trauma that resulted from the exploitive relationship Clarentine cultivated with her—including the resulting crisis she blindly imposes on her marriage. Chapters toggle back and forth between scenes of her childhood growing up jumping horses on the show circuit and the therapy sessions she later undergoes as an adult.
Using her own journey as an example, Carol demonstrates in this insightful memoir how unintegrated trauma limits us and our connection with others—and how the work of uncovering and reintegrating “what we do with what happens to us” can become the very source of our liberation.
Raw and riveting, Girl, Groomed is seasoned psychotherapist Carol Odell’s evolving story of coming to terms with the impacts of her own history of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of a predatory horse trainer who, for far too much of her young life, held all the reins. Set in the equestrian world of Virginia, this candid memoir details how, starting at ten years old, Carol falls under the spell of Clarentine, the charismatic—and explosively violent—owner of the stables just down the hill from her house. In tandem with that story, Carol examines the multi-faceted consequences of the complex trauma that resulted from the exploitive relationship Clarentine cultivated with her—including the resulting crisis she blindly imposes on her marriage. Chapters toggle back and forth between scenes of her childhood growing up jumping horses on the show circuit and the therapy sessions she later undergoes as an adult.
Using her own journey as an example, Carol demonstrates in this insightful memoir how unintegrated trauma limits us and our connection with others—and how the work of uncovering and reintegrating “what we do with what happens to us” can become the very source of our liberation.
Product Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press (April 22, 2025)
- Length: 200 pages
- ISBN13: 9781647428730
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Raves and Reviews
"A powerful, quietly moving memoir of abuse that encapsulates one woman’s incredible resilience."—Kirkus Reviews
“This is a story of a violent man who relied on complicity and coercion to leverage—and eventually poison—a young girl’s love of horses, but it is, above all, the story of that little-girl-turned-woman who found the courage and support to take her confidence, agency and majestic horses, back.”—Courtney Maum, author of The Year of Horses
“Set against the backdrop of the equestrian world’s beauty and danger, Carol Odell’s memoir is a harrowing account of her coming-of-age in a space marked by abuse and betrayal. . . . Through candid reflection and gripping prose, Odell examines the emotional toll of normalized abuse, the insidious power dynamics she faced, and her long, winding journey toward healing and self-compassion. This memoir offers a profound look at the lasting impact of trauma and the courage it takes to rebuild one's life.”—Mary Catherine McDonald, author of Unbroken: The Trauma Response is Never Wrong
“In Girl, Groomed we are given the heartbreaking, and at times terrifying story of young girl persistently and indelibly targeted by a sexual predator. Odell holds her story with reverence of a survivor and the wisdom of the therapist she eventually became. Stirring, unputdownable, and ultimately a story of courage and hope, this book's beauty lingers long after you have closed its pages.”—Meghan Riordan Jarvis, MA, LICSW, author of End of the Hour: A Therapist's Memoir
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