Credit: Richard Dunwoody

 

 

 

Today we welcome bestselling author Lara Prior Palmer to talk about the gap year that inspired her book, Rough Magic. At the age of nineteen, Lara Prior-Palmer discovered a website devoted to “the world’s longest, toughest horse race”―an annual competition of endurance and skill that involves dozens of riders racing a series of twenty-five wild ponies across 1,000 kilometers of Mongolian grassland. Lara ultimately became the youngest and first-ever woman to win the race. Margo, Julia and Lara discuss the entirety of Lara’s gap year, what it was like competing as a woman and why she thinks all young people should consider the magical uncertainty of gap time.

***Contest Alert*** We are giving away a copy of Rough Magic!

We are running the contest through Monday, December 16th so the winner will get their copy just in time for the holidays. 

CONTEST RULES

Follow @gapyearradio on instagram and tag someone you want to travel with too. If you already follow us, tag two people you want to travel with and/or who you think should take a gap year. 

Winner will be announced December 17th! 

Credit: Richard Dunwoody

“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

Here are some other reviews of Rough Magic:

The New York Times

The Guardian

The Washington Post

NPR

Credit: Richard Dunwoody

Think about ways to tell your gap year story!

Voices Project Live! – Gap Year alum Ambar Khawaja

Journaling

Writing piece for online outlets or papers about your experiences

Video projects/VLOGs

As Lara says, “If you have any inclination for expressing yourself in words, you just have to write, write, write.”