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Praise for Rough Magic

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Daily Mail, Esquire, Electric Literature, and Literary Hub

Finalist for the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition Award in Adventure Travel, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, and the Steppes Travel Adventure Travel Book of the Year Award

A BuzzFeed Book Club Official Pick

“If you like your memoirs to revolve around singular experiences, Lara Prior-Palmer’s Rough Magic delivers.”

—JOHN WILLIAMS, The New York Times

“An inspirational tale of struggle—dehydration, injury and isolation—ultimately overcome through grit and sheer willpower.”

—THOMAS GEBREMEDHIN, The Wall Street Journal Magazine

“This is no fresh-forged mythic hero, but rather a young woman who’s still doubting, still equivocating about her right to seek greatness . . . To her credit, the heroine of this story never claims to be flawless, nor even to be a heroine. Ultimately, the book lingers in the mind partly for its fearless prose and partly for its refusal to obey that tired old victorious arc of the journey narrative. Prior-Palmer both embraces the race and disavows it. She pulls back to observe the minutiae of the moment, the marmot holes that riddle the steppe and the infinite, individual blades of grass that paint it green. She offers no easy morals on these dual modes of life and of narrative . . . As Prior-Palmer senses on her journey, reconciling the wisdom of the everyday with the instinct for timelessness and mythmaking is a life’s work—work to which Rough Magic is an engaging guide.”

—ELLIE ROBBINS, The Washington Post

“Excellent prose and rigorous honesty . . . An unusual pleasure to read . . . Prior-Palmer writes with a dash and boldness few writers possess; her language seems sui generis . . . Her narrative alchemy is remarkable; in every chapter, she turns boredom to suspense and back again. The Derby is at once heart-stoppingly close and a miserable slog to which we already know the ending. That shifting—heroism to comedy, glamour to stinking holes in the ground—creates a tension far more interesting than the question of who’s going to win the race, or how.”

—LILY MEYER, NPR

“The author’s prose is poetic, and while the race and Mongolian landscape are conjured beautifully and intensely, the book’s emotional impact lies in the nuanced portrait of its subject searching for answers beyond the life she’s lived so far.”

—DAVID CANFIELD, Entertainment Weekly

“Think the next Educated or Wild. Palmer’s memoir of beating the odds to become a horse champion is an inspiring saga of perseverance—and a classic underdog tale.”

—Entertainment Weekly, 1 of the 15 Most Anticipated Books of the Year

“What unfolds, Cheryl Strayed–like, is her thrilling gallop to the finish line.”

—O, The Oprah Magazine, One of the Best Books by Women of the Season

“Rough Magic succeeds on its realness and Prior-Palmer’s unsparing analysis of herself and the scene . . . Even in the down moments, when one of her ponies is temporarily injured and she’s struggling, the fast-paced book is lyrical and full of tight, action-packed sentences. It reads like it came bursting out of her.”

—HEATHER HANSMAN, Outside

“Taking off on a horse into the Mongolian Steppe sounds like the bracing inverse to an overpopulated, busy urban life, but having the skills and grit to pull it off is another thing entirely. Lara Prior-Palmer attempted the Mongol Derby not really knowing what she was getting into; she ended it knowing much more about herself, and a race champion besides.”

—ESTELLE TANG, Elle

“It feels so tired to call a book inspiring, but that’s exactly what Rough Magic is . . . Thanks to Lara’s uncanny ability to make the reader feel like they’re in this race with her, you’ll be captivated from start to finish—and find yourself missing the book when it’s over.”

—MEHERA BONNER, Cosmopolitan

“Forthright and exhilarating . . . A frank and delightful blend of extreme sports and travel writing.”

—ERIN KEANE, Salon

“An instant classic memoir . . . With whip-smart sass and achingly beautiful observations on life, Prior-Palmer easily breaks us in as she canters across the wild verdant steppes of Mongolia, where the vastness is matched only by the author’s unbridled spirit of adventure. We’re reminded that despite battling bone-deep fatigue in sweat-soaked clothes, we too have what it takes to stay upright—no matter how many times we may get knocked down.”

—LAUREN MATISON, Shape

“Forthcoming, perceptive and humorous . . . Prior-Palmer’s account of her race across the Mongolian steppe is consistently joyful. It reminds us that joy can encompass chronic stomach pain, jammed thumbs, soaked jodhpurs, lost maps, angry boys throwing stones and the brutal tedium of 1,000 kilometers on horseback . . . Her gleeful words alone are worth the ride.”

—MORGAN HUNTER THOMAS, Ms.

“First-time author Prior-Palmer transforms from hopeless 19-year-old underdog into surprising champion of the grueling 2013 Mongol Derby in this exhilarating, visceral account of her attempt to win a 1,000-kilometer horse race across the Mongolian countryside . . . Filled with soulful self-reflection and race detail, this fast-paced page-turner is a thrill ride from start to finish.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Page by page, Prior-Palmer tunes us in, slows us down to her speed, to pony paces, and we begin to attend to the present moment just as she does . . . At every turn, Prior-Palmer’s writing is brilliant and clear-eyed and demonstrates more wisdom than any philosopher’s theories.”

—ABBY TRAVIS, San Francisco Chronicle

“An astonishing and hair-raising memoir that you, too, will race to finish.”

—Newsweek

“In this sensual, spiritual memoir, Prior-Palmer recounts her grueling journey through immense physical hardship, and her surprising transformation from underdog to champion.”

—ADRIENNE WESTENFELD, Esquire, One of the Best Books to Read This Season

“Absolutely riveting.”

—BuzzFeed

“[Prior-Palmer’s] gorgeous, sensual depiction of this race is a literary marvel; it feels like you are riding alongside her across the desolate steppes; her verbal acuity makes vivid the most elusive of landscapes; her triumph becomes ours.”

—KRISTIN IVERSEN, NYLON

“An awesome (like literally awesome) memoir of how Prior-Palmer became the youngest person to finish, not to mention the first woman to win ‘the world’s longest, toughest horse race.’ That would be the ten-day Mongol Derby, which is organized based on the messenger system used by Genghis Khan. So, no big deal or anything.”

—EMILY TEMPLE, Literary Hub

“[A] stirring new memoir . . . Many, many readers are going to be charmed by Rough Magic, whether they can tack up a horse or not, and rightly so. The setting is exotic. The challenge is extreme. The protagonist is winsome and imperfect . . . The magnitude of what she ultimately achieves ‘stun[s] her into writing,’ but it’s not healing that Prior-Palmer seeks, or even liberation. It’s the ‘world in the raw,’ something many of us have learned to crave.”

—ALYSON HAGY, Literary Hub

“The narrator’s peculiar syntax, unabashed youth, and victory against a hell of a lot of odds kept the book in my happy hands.”

—COURTNEY MAUM, The Rumpus

“From the opening pages of Rough Magic, readers understand they are entering the mind of a unique personality . . . Prior-Palmer describes the Mongol Derby as ‘a perfect hodgepodge of Snakes and Ladders and the Tour de France on unknown bicycles.’ As a former horseback rider with an adventurous streak (who also happens to appreciate the Tour de France), I was predisposed to enjoy this book. But it was turns of phrases like that, I quickly realized—surprising, playful, unexpected—that were going to make me love it.”

—HALIMAH MARCUS, Electric Literature

“Feisty and exhilarating . . . Horse lovers will adore this inspiring and spirited memoir.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Palmer writes with grace, giving a measured, reflective account of the race she was unprepared for but still won, the rivalries and partnerships that sprung up between the competitors, and the ruggedly lovely, lonely landscape she traversed. An engaging profile of humans and horses, and a searing, soulful examination of endurance.”

—Booklist

“Few readers are more horse-crazy than teens, and Prior-Palmer’s youthful perspective will speak to them.”

—Booklist (YA)

“A fresh, irreverent voice and a quick wit . . . It’s a story worthy of the best adventure writers, and Prior-Palmer does not disappoint. An appealing account that will capture the imagination of a wide audience, including young adults. Readers who enjoyed Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and James Campbell’s Braving It will want to join Prior-Palmer on her once-in-a-lifetime trek.”

—Library Journal

“[Prior-Palmer’s] visceral descriptions of each leg of the journey, and the unrelenting urge to defeat the frontrunner from Texas, make for an unforgettable story.”

—JANE CIABATTARI, BBC Culture, 1 of 10 Books to Read This Month

“Prior-Palmer already shares many qualities with classic English travel writers such as Rebecca West and Gertrude Bell, but she is also refreshingly self-aware . . . A heroic tale beautifully told.”

—CAROLINE EDEN, The Times Literary Supplement

“Prior-Palmer’s style is a fascinating mix of pep and poignancy. A really terrific story by a spirited new voice.”

—SARA BAUME, author of A Line Made by Walking

“Rough Magic is the most entertaining memoir I’ve read in years. It’s thrilling, hilarious, unexpected, and ultimately breathtaking. I loved every minute of this wild ride.”

—ABBY GENI, author of The Wildlands

“This debut memoir is a brilliant literary exploration of loneliness and an exhilarating, funny, soulful account of how one young woman, against all odds, won a truly extraordinary race.”

—KRISTEN RADTKE, author of Imagine Wanting Only This

“As fast-paced as the swiftest Mongolian racehorse, Lara Prior-Palmer’s searingly honest account of her astonishing rise from hopeless underdog to Mongol Derby champion leaves grit in your teeth and dust in your hair. I laughed, I cried, and I felt every bruise. I was riveted until the last word and left with lasting daydreams of Mongolian horizons.”

—FELICITY ASTON, author of Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice

“Lara Prior-Palmer’s writing collapses geological time into the velocity of the present instant, near and distant histories thrumming in the thoughts that beat between hoof-falls. In Rough Magic she possesses Annie Dillard’s brilliance for noticing, laced with a wild and glistering humor. If an intellect can be said to be elemental, this is it.”

—JOSEPHINE ROWE, author of A Loving, Faithful Animal

“Rough Magic brims with urgency, wit, and insight. Lara Prior-Palmer is an author to remember, and she’s written a book that wild horses couldn’t drag me away from.”

—LILY BROOKS-DALTON, author of Motorcycles I’ve Loved

“Rough Magic is so charming, weird, and absorbing. I was fascinated by the race, and the utterly unique Prior-Palmer herself.”

—SOFIJA STEFANOVIC, author of Miss Ex-Yugoslavia