My New Book Is Coming MARCH 24, 2026
When I first met this former racehorse, nicknamed Blackie, I was a thirtysomething professional woman devoted to my career. Married without children, I had recently landed an ever-better job in a new town. But unlike the big city where I lived before, this smaller town’s suburban ranch-style living easily accommodated horses, and I was soon tempted into returning to the wonderful world of horses where I had found such joy and refuge as a child.
Little did I know, however, that, in the simple, straightforward conveyance of Blackie’s Jockey Club papers, I had signed adoption papers, of a sort, for my first “child.” In transitioning Blackie from a racehorse to a riding horse, I confront trials of many kinds, some life-threatening, while I learn to calm his temperamental mind and volatile behavior. As I struggled to tame this “wild child,” though, I discovered he was not the only one who had demons to slay.
FUR MAMA tells the story of my taking on this young, tempestuous racehorse, and how I juggle him and my new job. As I strive for better life-work balance, Blackie and the baby Labrador who I rescue along the way inspire me to shift my priorities. Through their charms and challenges, I slowly and unexpectedly discover another kind of motherhood that re-shapes my career and re-makes my life for the better.
PRAISE FOR FUR MAMA
“What stands out immediately about Fur Mama is the emotional honesty of du Pont’s journey and the intelligence with which she explores an often underexamined form of motherhood. Her transition from a high-achieving, Type-A professional to a woman reshaping her identity through care, responsibility, and love feels both intimate and widely relatable.
The way she frames adopting a retired racehorse and a shelter dog, not as a sentimental detour, but as a profound redefinition of family, purpose, and self-worth, is especially compelling. The memoir thoughtfully captures the vulnerability of uprooting a carefully built life, the discomfort of surrendering control, and the quiet courage required to embrace a nurturing role later in life and on one’s own terms. Du Pont’s reflections on what it means to be a ‘good mother’ in this context are handled with nuance, avoiding easy answers while inviting genuine self-recognition in the reader.
By weaving together themes of career, ambition, caregiving, relocation, and the human animal bond, Fur Mama offers a fresh and emotionally grounded contribution to ongoing conversations about success, fulfillment, and ‘having it all.’ It feels particularly well positioned for readers navigating midlife transitions, child-free identity, animal rescue culture, and redefining family beyond traditional frameworks.”
Juliet McDaniel
Novelist and Screenwriter whose first book Mr. and Mrs. American Pie (2018) has been made into the acclaimed television series, Palm Royale (2024), starring Laura Dern, Ricky Martin, and Kristen Wiig
“In search of deeper meaning in her life, Diana du Pont adopts a rambunctious off-the-track Thoroughbred and a half-grown Labrador pup. A powerful storyteller, du Pont runs the gamut of descriptive imagery, from the heartwarming to the tragic. You are quickly immersed in the inspiring moments, anguishing challenges, and inevitable messiness that come with training and nurturing these beloved family members. This touching memoir speaks emotionally not only to ‘fur mamas’ but also to biological mamas who step up to meet similar challenges in raising their children. Du Pont experiences a love like none other in caring for her animals, perfecting a kind of patience and understanding that make her see her adopted Thoroughbred as ‘neither a project with a deadline, nor a destination with an end point.’”
Dot Morgan
Founder and Executive Director, New Vocations Racehorse and Adoption Program
“Fur Mama tells the story of so many childless women (and men) who find true purpose and a deeper connection when they save the life of an adopted companion animal—only to find that the life they save, or at least forever transform, is their own. This is a must-read for anyone who’s dreamed of heeding their inner voice’s nudge to slow down, to take on a challenge, to forge a new path. Set against the backdrop of competitive equestrian sport, Fur Mama beautifully captures author Diana du Pont’s journey toward becoming her true self, best seen through the eyes of her beloved rescue horse and dog, and is a powerful testament to the bond between people and pets who, as the author reminds us, change our lives for good and for the better.”
Jessica Henry-Johnson
Executive Director, Humane Fort Wayne