Running for the Hills: A Memoir

by Horatio Clare

Paperback

Published March 11, 2008

About the author

Horatio Clare (b. 1973) is a writer, radio producer and journalist. Born in London, he and his brother Alexander grew up on a hill farm in the Black Mountains of south Wales. Clare describes the experience in his first book Running for the Hills (John Murray 2006) in which he sets out to trace the course and causes of his parents divorce, and recalls the eccentric, romantic and often harsh conditions of his childhood. The book was widely and favourably reviewed in the UK, where it became a bestseller, as in the US.

Running for the Hills was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award and shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Horatio has written about Ethiopia, Namibia and Morocco, and now divides his time between South Wales, Lancashire and London. He was awarded a Somerset Maugham Award for the writing of A Single Swallow (Chatto and Windus, 2009).

Reviews

[Lesley Goldthorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running for the Hills is one of those books that feels like taking a long walk in a quiet, beautiful place while your brain sorts itself out. It’s thoughtful, a little emotional, and really rooted in the landscape—Horatio Clare makes the hills feel like more than just a setting. They’re kind of part of the whole point.
It’s not an action-packed, fast read, but it is the kind of book that pulls you in with the writing. The way he describes nature, movement, and the need to just get away for a while feels really real. It has that calm, reflective vibe, like you’re reading someone’s journey while also thinking about your own life a little bit.
If you like books about being outdoors, clearing your head, and getting lost in good writing, this one is a solid pick.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the book which has resonated with me the most in a very, very long time.

I absolutely adored this book and re read passages over and over because they moved me so much.

I will definitely be returning to it.

[Jesse Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and heartfelt memoir of a childhood spent living on a fairly isolated farm in the bucolic mountains of Wales, with a determined, resilient if perhaps at times bloody minded Mother who’s determination is matched by the many trials, challenges and hardships of cattle farming.
It’s also a story about growing up as part of a single parent family and how absent parental nurturing can affect the outlook we have of ourselves and the accompanying feelings of shame, failure and confusion experienced at an age when such emotions are felt but barely understood.
A beautifully written book with settings, scenes and incidents vividly recalled, of both the beauty and sometimes cruelty of nature and the freedom of living amongst the rolling hills of the Welsh black mountains.
The writing also conveys perceptive insights of the emotional landscape of the story’s characters too.
Beautiful book. Recommended reading.