The Long Ride Home: The Continuing Story Of A Father's Quest To Heal His Son Rowan

by Rupert Isaacson

Heart-breaking, uplifting and full of adventure, The Long Ride Home is the long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller The Horse Boy. Rowan came back from the shamans in Mongolia a changed boy. The three most debilitating effects of his autism - his incontinence, his endless tantruming, and his inability to make friends - were gone. But a year almost to the day since Rowan's improvement he started the accidents and tantrums reappeared, terrifying his father Rupert. Something had to be done. Father and son embarked on a new quest, journeying from the bushmen of Namibia to the coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia and finally to the Navajo reservations of the American southwest, where Rowan was transformed - they had begun the Long Ride Home. 'It is probably only once in a critical lifetime that one will be moved almost to tears ... a triumph of the human spirit' Telegraph (on The Horse Boy) 'Magical, miraculous, uplifting' Daily Mail (on The Horse Boy) 'Amazing, astonishing' Sunday Times (on The Horse Boy) Rupert Isaacson is British but lives with his family in Texas, USA. He is an ex-professional horse trainer and founder of The Horse Boy Foundation, which helps to make horses and nature available to other children, autistic or not, all over the world, including the UK. The Horse Boy was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2014

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowan has autism and in an earlier book, briefly recapped, his dad Rupert learnt that Rowan liked riding the neighbour's quiet mare. He took the lad to Mongolia to speak with horse herders and shamans. This book carries on as each year for three years the family took Rowan to shamans around the world.
We get a look at the lives and environments of these tribal peoples, the most detailed being the Kalahari Bushmen. The others are Australian Aborigines and Navajos.

In between Rupert and his wife Kristin set up a camp for other autism families where the whole family can come and ride horses. This is great as siblings are not left out. Families can meet and swap advice. Rupert has help from volunteers and neighbours but not all goes smoothly especially as he starts to make films and teach his 'Horse Boy' method to others. But the main tale follows Rowan's development and gradual coming into the real world with conversation, and we are told that many marriages break up as the mothers are left with the autistic child. A useful point is that Rupert discovers that Rowan responds very well to eating protein.

I'm glad I'm not in this situation. Here are some points that occurred to me as I read.
The kid is incontinent. Well, we know he learns by watching. Giving him a ranch of large animals to watch wasn't a great idea for continence. Better a cat and her litter tray.
The kid has freakout episodes of hysterical screaming, caused by distress, for an hour at a time, even while his parents are driving him in a jeep on a bush road. Rupert says he is against drugs. Sorry but nobody is being helped here and a mild tranquiliser would have worked in everyone's favour and let them all enjoy the ride safely. If this was a horse you would tranquilise the horse.
The kid gets to control his parents almost all the time and dictate his own actions. That's not how it works in normal households. The only winner is the kid.
The parents were running an establishment with horses, facilities and staff for many other families to avail of and were determined not to accept money. This meant they were under far greater stress than necessary and had reduced funds for their own life; they fundraised incessantly involving much travelling. They should have charged whatever families were able to contribute and asked for volunteers.

In Ireland we have autism assistance dogs; large, kind Labradors which are harnessed to the child and are trained (by the Guide Dogs Association) never to run in harness. This means the child is unable to dash off as Rowan is often shown doing. The friendly calm animal is similar to the horses Rowan loved. Not every family can keep a horse but most can manage a dog.

The spiritual journeys undertaken in the tale are interesting but if you are not into shamanism you can still learn a great deal. I also recommend:
The Spark by Christine Barnett
Learning to Dance in the Rain by Melanie Bennett.
This is an unbiased review.

[Tory · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of the author's following of nontraditional (n0n-Western) methods with his autistic son, including working with horses and visiting shamans for healing. Though I enjoyed learning of the different methods and the challenges and successes of those methods, the book is in serious need of editing, as it is at least twice as long as it needs to be. Given the nonfiction nature of the book, and the author's apparent willingness to share his methods, I expected references --- footnotes, a list of sources, where to go for more information --- none of which were included in the book.

[Kingfan30 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My secret Santa did good in sending this book to me. As a trustee and volunteer for a local Riding for the Disabled book, I’m always interested to get fresh ideas. I have witnessed firsthand the impact us and our horses have on their riders, a couple of riders with autism spring to mind immediately. They struggled to communicate, particularly at school, and within a year of being with us was showing huge improvement with this, one even getting up to do a presentation about what riding with the RDA meant to them. An fit helps the families too, they get a break while we take over and get to sit and chat with other families over a cuppa.

And this book does show that with the improvements in Rowan and the other families they helped at New Trails. I haven’t read Horse Boy so the little recap at the beginning was helpful. I’m not sure 100% about the healers, I think it’s one of those things that I would have to witness for myself. I found the ideas around schooling fascinating, the idea you do it on their terms whilst doing something the enjoy makes a lot of sense, and to a degree we try a bit of this with our groups. It was bit repetitive at times but overall an enjoyable read.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hardly know how to rate this book. It is extremely interesting, no doubt about that. It's the continuing story of Rowan, the autistic boy whom we met in "The Horse Boy". There they had gone on a healing journey to Mongolia. In this book they went to Africa, Australia, and Najavoland to visit more shamans. The shamans seemed to really help with Rowan's healing. As a Christian I find that hard to understand since I believe that God is source of all healing. Perhaps somethings are not meant to be understood. I do know that being in contact with nature and animals can play a big role in one's health journey. Anyway despite my conflicting feelings I did enjoy this book.

[Suusjeeee____ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een boek geschreven met liefde en dat lees je terug. Heel mooi boek!

[Joell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravely told story of love and how it leads us to adventure, to self realization and to freedom. From the steppes of Mongolia, to the campfires of the Kalahari down the the canyons of the Great Basin, through the depths of the heart and ego and emerging on the back of a strong horse galloping through life. Rupert takes you with him on the journey of a lifetime as a parent who dares to love.

[Ciel Rombouts · Rating 3 out of 5]

De auteur slaat een andere toon aan in de vervolg op De paardenjongen. Er wordt een fijne, maar niet te uitvoerige recap gegeven van boek 1, waardoor ik meteen weer in het verhaal van Rowan en zijn gezin zat.
In boek 1 had ik wat kritiek op de pseudowetenschap die wordt aangehaald om autisme te verklaren, en ook in dit boek sijbelde dit af en toe tussen de regels door. Autisme wordt nogal gegeneraliseerd en ik miste hierin wederom een wetenschappelijke onderbouwing. Hoe dan ook kan ik dit boek waarderen voor wat het is; de verslaglegging van een vader over de zoektocht naar geluk voor zijn autistische zoon, en de innerlijke processen, twijfels en onzekerheden die dit met zich meebrengt. Ik vind dat de auteur op een hele kundige, maar toegankelijke wijze beschrijft hoe hij de sjamanistische rituelen ondergaat, waarbij hij ook veel put uit eerdere ervaringen vanuit zijn journalistieke verleden. Dit laatste was niet per se nodig voor het autisme-verhaal, maar gaf wel extra informatie wat ik persoonlijk heel interessant vond.
Naar mijn mening weet de auteur doortastend en invoelend te beschrijven hoe het opvoeden van een autistisch kind impact kan hebben op een ouder, het gezin, de relatie en het leven van iedereen die erbij betrokken is.
De laatste 40% gaat vooral over het leven van het gezin na de heling van Rowan, en hoe het gezin hun ervaringen inzet om andere families te helpen. Er wordt gezinspeeld op de mogelijke (!) oorzaken van autisme, waarom het steeds meer voorkomt en hoe we onze samenleving hierop zouden moeten inrichten. Wat mij betreft snijdt dit niet heel veel hout, maar ik realiseer me dat dit boek ook alweer 10 jaar oud is. De auteur heeft duidelijk een boodschap en die kan ik waarderen.

⭐️3.5

[Rebecca gubbels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het tweede deel na dat ik de paardenjongen heb gelezen begonnen in de lange weg naar huis. Een goed boek en sluit mooi aan op het eerste deel. Wel prettig dat het begin aansluit bij het eerste boek zodat je er goed in kunt komen. Het verhaal is bijzonder omdat het gaat over autisme en word verteld via de vader die veel meemaakt. Normaal word het geschreven door de autist zelf waardoor dit verhaal heel anders is, ook omdat hij reizen maakt voor zijn zoon. Ik heb veel respect ervoor dat je je zo open opsteld en dat je er alles aan doet om je zoon te helpen. Zo zie je maar dat er ook goede mensen zijn. Het is een vader die veel over heeft voor zijn zoon en hem op elk vlak goed wil begeleiden dat ook zoals in het boek te lezen is heel pittig kan zijn.

Het is ook wel een pittig boek en voor veel autisten en ouders/ verzorgers van kan het best confronterend overkomen. Voor elke dierenliefhebber zul je als ze het over de paarden hebben dingen herkennen. Ook als je niets met dieren of autisme hebt is het goed om te lezen, zo leer je veel over autisme en over de levenswijze van een vader. Een mooie reis ook door verschillende delen om healing te zoeken voor Rowan.

Ik vind het mooi om de plaatjes te zien in het boek zodat je inzicht krijgt in wie Rowan en vooral betsy is.

Hij neemt je letterlijk mee in de reis die hij maakt.

[Mark Logie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long Ride Home is a powerful book which acknowledges human failings and is packed with insight into life, human nature, autism and the natural environment, such as "[B]y first giving up my dreams, and then putting them into the service of the dreams of those more vulnerable than myself, they had started to come true" (p 270) or "Adventure is built into daily life here; it's not something you do sometimes, once in a while. In Africa, adventure is the day to day, the same old same old" (p 101). A wise and compassionate book with -- thank God -- less focus on Rowan's toilet habits and initial problems, it is better than the original (The Horse Boy), a more satisfying and emotional read.

I recommend it highly.

[Della · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a book, I couldn’t put it down. It of course involves autism and discusses it well, but their travels, the shaman of the different countries, the action packed storylines which are unexpected and yet totally engrossing make this book a complete package. The New Trails, Horse Boy Learning and Movement Method of teaching autism children as well as his vision for the future are very hopeful and encouraging.

[Lisa K Stodart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uplifting

Such an honest, heart warming and captivating true story. I hope to be able to visit New Trails some day and see for myself the amazing results of caring professionals working in nature with children and animals. Could there be a better combination for any child, not just an autistic child?

[Ranette · Rating 5 out of 5]

THis is a powerful book about two parents trying really hard to help their boy who has autism. They decide to visit Mongolia and have several blessings preformed for Rowan. He does come back better and can use the toilet. Great father who wouldn't stop trying to find a cure to make his son better. THe mom is also involved with her son.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, absolutely amazing story.

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!! Just as good as the first book “The Horse Boy”.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful, honestly written book, very inspiring and full of humanity. I loved this even more than the first one.

[Louise Pay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long ride home is a story of adventure, hope and how a supporting community can go a long way in helping to raise a child with autism. It is thought provoking and takes the reader on a spiritual journey as well as detailing the challenges of autism. It is a remarkable story of how a young boy with autism progressed.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sequel to Horse Boy is very similar to it. At first, I didn’t think I could finish it, since it was more of the same struggles and visits to shamans as in the first book. Once I got farther into it, however, I realized that the struggles were different, in that Rowan was older, and the visits to Shamans were different, in that Rowan could interact with them. In addition, the author explains more insights about how to deal with and teach autists, so that I enjoyed the book. Isaacson is a good story-teller and his stories (all true) are a good read.

[Donna Harland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This tells the story of hope for autistic children. The need for committed and understanding parents to be not afraid to step outside the box of what others call normal, find the best avenue for their child and their family.
Very well written. I could not put it down and will follow this family as far as the internet will take me.
The people in the 'tribe' at New Trails are amazing people. I commend them all.
Thank you!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sequel to the first book "The Horse Boy". Rupert Isaacson describes his journeys around the world with his son who has autism. I liked Rupert's honesty when describing his successes and also his failures. It introduces us to methods of healing which have been carried out for thousands of years.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories contained in the book were excellent. The telling of the stories got a little long. I felt like the author repeated his concerns and his descriptions of his son's issues over and over and over (and sometimes using the exact same wording repeatedly).

I loved hearing more about Rowan and Rupert's adventures and where they are now.

[Shelley Des Forges · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a discounted book via a Sunday paper. I'd have never read otherwise. I did enjoy the story but suggest only read if particularly interested in autism or alternative healing.

[River King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fascinating read. If you are curious about how other people understand life and illness, this is for you.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about Autism and a families journey to get help for their son

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking. Really questions how we live our lives and how we manage children and people with differences.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, but definitely read Horse Boy first.