Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell

by Samantha Hart

Overview

WINNER of the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival Wild Card

WINNER of the 2021 New York Book Festival Wild Card

WINNER Booklife Quarter Finalist

"A spectacularly written memoir about the impact of cycles of abuse and dependence, Samantha Hart's Blind Pony is an intelligent exploration of both runaway teenage years and the ephemeral nature of truth."

BookLife Quarter Finalist

"BLIND PONY is a memoir about overcoming-about facing up to and learning from one's past without being imprisoned by it."

- David Herman for IndieReader

"Hart's powerful debut, a gritty memoir rife with graphic details of abuse and triumph over it, will break hearts." - Publisher's Weekly

"A spectacularly written memoir about the impact of cycles of abuse and dependence, Samantha Hart's Blind Pony is an intelligent exploration of both runaway teenage years and the ephemeral nature of truth." - BookLife Prize

The true story of a runaway teen who escapes an abusive home life only to find herself in predatory Los Angeles in the 1970's. After years of enduring her grandfather's abuse, 14-year-old Samantha Hart runs away from her Pennsylvania family farm in search of her estranged father in Arizona.

After a troubling reunion, she flees to the promising lights of La-La Land. Desperate to forget the past, she immerses herself in a spectacle of drugs, decadence, and money in Hollywood.

But when a wealthy playboy mistakes her Pittsburgh accent for British, a new spiral of white lies begin, and a new identity is born. Swept to Europe, Samantha floats through champagne parties, sexual adventures, and a whirlwind of international escapades. With a portfolio of nude photos under her arm, she is determined to make something of herself.

Will her young, broken spirit find the strength to persevere, to survive the unsurvivable? Will she transcend the temptation to give up in a world that seems so set against her?

BLIND PONY: AS TRUE A STORY AS I CAN TELL is the tale of one young woman's unwillingness to accept the circumstances life dealt her, and instead, takes the reins to find success beyond her wildest dreams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648710100
Publisher:	Wild Bill Creative, Inc.
Publication date:	03/15/2021
Series:	Samantha Hart
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	864,327
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

.Samantha Hart found her calling in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, holding numerous high profile positions in music, film, and advertising, as a senior creative executive. She has won awards for creative direction, copywriting, and design.She lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Preface

1 A Farewell To The Farm

2 An Accidental Meeting

3 The Road to Shangri-La.

4 Princess

5 Return to Sender

6 Old Coins

7 Pink Platform Shoes

8 Rumi Told Me

9 Get Me Pam Butter

10 A Seismic Shift

11 In Cold Blood

12 Crossroads of the World

13 London Calling

14 Traa Dy Llooar

15 Hatching a Plan

16 European Tour

17 A Strange Affair

18 Mais Oui!

19 Meeting a Devil

20 A Girl Named Sam

21 Waking Up In Woodstock

22 Coming Clean

23 Samantha Song

24 The Mystic Bums

25 Purpose Priorities and Perfume

26 Vignette Noelle

27 The Hart Family

28 Judgment Day

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

"Hart's powerful debut, a gritty memoir rife with graphic details of abuse and triumph over it, will break hearts.

Readers will be flabbergasted by Hart's tenacious survival instincts.A lesser spirit would have given up early on, but Hart admirably soldiered forward. Hart's incredible resilience and courage will captivate anyone who reads her words. Her rise to top roles in the advertising game and in Hollywood is nothing short of an amazing reinvention. Unforgettable and raw, Hart's deeply honest musings will ring true to all abuse survivors and those who want to understand what it's like to walk through fire." --Publisher's Weekly/Book Life

"A harrowing and engrossing account of a young woman's difficult journey. Hart is a gifted storyteller, and sometimes these engaging tales of traveling the world and mingling with the rich and famous seem like something out of a celebrity biopic. The book is ultimately inspirational..." - Kirkus Review

Great for fans of Mackenzie Phillips's High on Arrival, Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle, Dorothy Allison's Bastard out of Carolina. - --Publisher's Weekly/Book Life

"Samantha Hart's memoir BLIND PONY features polished, fluent writing and offers a gripping account of how she overcame a traumatic childhood and difficult young adulthood to establish a secure and loving home for her daughter. The narrative ends just as Hart achieves personal and financial independence.., BLIND PONY is a memoir about overcoming-about facing up to and learning from one's past without being imprisoned by it." - David Herman for IndieReader

"In all the year's I knew and worked with Sam, I had no idea of the obstacles she overcame in her childhood and teenage years. Sam exudes positivity and is one of the strongest people I know. I am so proud of her writing this book. It's a page turner." - Claudia Gray/Former Colleague/Universal Pictures

"A powerful coming of age story under impossible circumstances, Samantha Hart writes movingly of finding her strength through rebellion, recovery, forgiveness, and moving forward." Jill Watts/Bestselling Author/Professor of Graduate Studies, CSU

"Sam's writing is exquisite and made me feel I was living this journey with her...I laughed out loud more than once." -Ann Haugen/Music Producer

From the Publisher

2020-08-20
A debut memoir tells the story of a teenager trying to escape a life of exploitation and find herself.

Hart’s troubles started when she was 5 years old. Her mother had left her husband, taking her five daughters to live on her parents’ farm in rural Pennsylvania. According to Hart, her grandfather sexually abused her repeatedly, trying to hide the horrific deeds from the rest of the family. He was caught in the act by the author’s mother, who ignored it. Hart decided she would have to fend for herself and headed to Arizona to live with her father, “Wild Bill,” whom she had idealized in his absence. But he had started a new family, and Hart would not be a part of it. The cycle of abuse continued as she fled Arizona for Los Angeles after a pimp tried to recruit her. She found herself hooked on drugs and abused by a string of men trying to keep her as a sex object. But along the way, she discovered assets and talents. Eventually, she realized she had inherited her father’s ability to bluff his way through sales and that she was good at prepping a store for presentations. She did some modeling, and that led her to different jobs as a stylist for adult photo shoots. Hart followed a photographer named Eugene to England and wound up traveling around Europe, selling adult photo sets to publishers. At one point, she became a backgammon hustler in Los Angeles, something readers likely won’t find in many memoirs. Most of this happened before she turned 20. What pulls the story along is that each time the exploitation cycle repeated, Hart seemed to get a little closer to relying on her own strengths and finally becoming independent. The drugs, the lure of glamour, and just bad decision-making kept getting in the way. Hart is a gifted storyteller, and sometimes these engaging tales of traveling the world and mingling with the rich and famous seem like something out of a celebrity biopic (perhaps why she subtitled her work). The book is ultimately inspirational, but readers have to see the author go through a wringer to get there.

A harrowing and engrossing account of a young woman’s difficult journey.

Kirkus Reviews