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Woman's Best Friend: Women Writers on the Dogs in Their Lives by Megan McMorris, Pam Houston
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
Ah, when life starts to dictate your reading habits. I just got a dog, so I'm on the hunt (sometimes quite unconsciously) for dog-related material to read. I grabbed this after about two seconds of thought in the Pet section of the library.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of real-life short stories about different female writers and the dogs that influenced them. There were some that were fairly inane (hey, we can't all have amazingly interesting lives) and some that were humorous. Others really touched me, as do most things that deal with loving pets/loved ones dying (oy, just get me a tissue box now).
One of the last stories was certainly more cerebral than some, discussing the impact dogs have on one's social life, or lack there-of. Do we use dogs to retreat from the world to salve a damaged life, or do we use dogs as an easy way to meet people on the street? I can already attest to the fact that I've met more people in my neighborhood in the last five days than I ever have in the last two and a half years of living there.
The story that really caught me and left me choking back tears and anger in the middle of the restaurant I was eating lunch and reading to myself was the one about the homeless man and his pack of dogs in NYC. I forget the author/name of the story at the moment, but that one just resonated with me. It was truly terrifying to think about people being terrorized by an aggressive pack led by a homeless man in the city and having not ONE authority figure do a thing about it. I felt the righteous anger and incredible fear right alongside the author as she raced to rescue her poor dog from being eaten alive and then embarked on a fruitless quest to get the authorities, from any sector, to do something about it. Why have laws if the people we expect and elect to uphold them do nothing? And the fact that there was no solution, no wrap-up at the end because this is true story and not everything gets a happy ending...rough.
So all in all, I'd say go read this if you're a dog lover and like personal essays. I was sad to see it end.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of real-life short stories about different female writers and the dogs that influenced them. There were some that were fairly inane (hey, we can't all have amazingly interesting lives) and some that were humorous. Others really touched me, as do most things that deal with loving pets/loved ones dying (oy, just get me a tissue box now).
One of the last stories was certainly more cerebral than some, discussing the impact dogs have on one's social life, or lack there-of. Do we use dogs to retreat from the world to salve a damaged life, or do we use dogs as an easy way to meet people on the street? I can already attest to the fact that I've met more people in my neighborhood in the last five days than I ever have in the last two and a half years of living there.
The story that really caught me and left me choking back tears and anger in the middle of the restaurant I was eating lunch and reading to myself was the one about the homeless man and his pack of dogs in NYC. I forget the author/name of the story at the moment, but that one just resonated with me. It was truly terrifying to think about people being terrorized by an aggressive pack led by a homeless man in the city and having not ONE authority figure do a thing about it. I felt the righteous anger and incredible fear right alongside the author as she raced to rescue her poor dog from being eaten alive and then embarked on a fruitless quest to get the authorities, from any sector, to do something about it. Why have laws if the people we expect and elect to uphold them do nothing? And the fact that there was no solution, no wrap-up at the end because this is true story and not everything gets a happy ending...rough.
So all in all, I'd say go read this if you're a dog lover and like personal essays. I was sad to see it end.
summers7's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but only a couple of the women I could relate with. I am a Dog Mom freak.
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