My Animals and Other Family

By: Clare Balding

Narrated by: Clare Balding

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of My Animals and Other Family, Clare Balding's wildly funny and deeply moving childhood memoir, read brilliantly by the author herself

'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and I suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine'

Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. As her father is a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen.

She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs. From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky Hattie, each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to play.

The running family joke was that "women ain't people". Clare had to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say.

My Animals and Other Family is a funny, brave, tender story of self-discovery.

'Moving, funny and larger than life' Michael Morpurgo

'Magical, enchanting, riotously eccentric' Daily Mail

'Funny and moving, James Herriot meets David Sedaris' The Times

'Forthright, thoughtful, funny . . . reads like a Jilly Cooper novel' Sunday Times

'Funny and unexpectedly wise. Balding has lots of good stories to tell. It is impossible not to admire her honesty Mail on Sunday

'She can do anything. If there were four more Clare Baldings, we'd have our empire back. Six, and we'd be colonising the Moon. And there would be crumpets and ashtrays for everyone' Caitlin Moran, The Times

'The reading equivalent of snuggling by the fire with a labrador' The Guardian

'A funny, affectionate memoir' Independent on Sunday

'Charming, refreshingly self-depreciating, funny and moving. Balding tells it with immense flair' Daily Express

Clare Balding is an award-winning broadcaster and writer. She became the face of the BBC's racing coverage in 1998, and now works across a wide range of sports for television and radio. She has been a lead presenter for the Olympics, Paralympics, Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games. For more than twelve years, she has hiked across the countryside for the BBC Radio 4 series Ramblings.

Clare has presented Countryfile, Britain's Hidden Heritage, Britain By Bike, Crufts, and Famous & Fearless, and has appeared on QI, Have I Got News for You and Sport Relief. She has been voted RTS Sports Presenter of the Year and Racing Broadcaster of the Year. She lives in West London with her partner Alice, their wayward Tibetan Terrier Archie and a cat who couldn't give a damn called Itty. My Animals and Other Family is Clare's first book.

Critic reviews

Moving, funny and larger than life (Michael Morpurgo)

Simply fabulous (Jilly Cooper)

Wonderful read, great narration

Great books transport you to places you have never been to or could go to. This is such a book. I traveled to England and to another time and a place where horses and to lives built around them. Great story, engaging storytelling. Highly recommend it.

The way Clare narrated the story.

I loved this book. The clever way that it was told as a story and yet it is a biography as well.
Very clever and so interesting, to learn the story behind an amazing personality. Thank you Clare for sharing.

Lovely, brings you to tears and makes you laugh out loud

I binge listened to this whilst cleaning and cooking, it is relaxing and not too hard to follow and Clare Balding really brings her stories to life with vivid descriptions of the animals and people who have shaped her life. I would definitely recommend this book.

Amazing

Where does My Animals and Other Family rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best books I have listen too,

What does Clare Balding bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the way claire read the book, It was like we where there, truly brilliant

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the queen was at the breakfast table,