Relearning to Trust: Professor Beach Contributes to Anthology of Horse Stories
It’s often said that if a writer falls in love, their love will never die. If this is the case, Professor Cynthia Beach’s childhood horse, Chicobi, is immortal.
In a recent contribution to an anthology of horse stories entitled “The Horse of My Dreams” edited by Callie Smith Grant, Beach recalls the traumatic event that caused her to lose trust in her beloved horse. One day while riding through plum fields in the foothills of San Jose, Calif., Beach was knocked unconscious. The injury required 72 stitches along her left ear. The story, entitled “Redeeming Trust,” recounts Beach’s slow process of rebuilding her relationship with Chicobi.
“That event filled me with fear every time I rode faster than a walk,” Beach recalled. “Should I sell Chicobs? I wondered. How could I reclaim my relationship with my beloved horse?”
This is Beach’s second collaboration with Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. She previously contributed another story of how a stranger gifted her a black horse. “I had dreamt of black horses since meeting ‘The Black Stallion’ series as a first grader,” Beach said. Revell had liked her work and asked her to contribute to “The Horse of My Dreams.”
It is safe to say that Beach has a deep love for horses, but her accident with Chicobi rattled her. “I was and am an extreme horse lover,” Beach said, “so to be seriously hurt off one really challenged this core love. I had to regain that trust.”
While contributing to other anthologies, Beach is also the published author of “Creative Juices: A Splash of Story Craft, Process and Creative Soul Care.” Her novel, “The Surface of Water,” is currently under consideration. Beach also co-founded Breathe Christian Writers Conference and Breathe Deeper, a writing retreat in West Michigan.
