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| A Three Dog Life | 
 enlarge | Author: Abigail Thomas
Publisher: Harvest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy New: $0.95
You Save: $12.05 (93%)
New (56) Used (62) from $0.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 18399
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 12.1 x 8 x 0.8
ISBN: 0156033232
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780156033237
ASIN: 0156033232
Publication Date: September 15, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: SHIPS TODAY!!!!!! BRAND NEW BOOK
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| Customer Reviews:
 beautifully written November 28, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book in the airport after a day of delayed and rebooked flights. Already frustrated, I was looking for something that would distract me and make the day go by a little faster... I found this book and was immediately intrigued. Abigail Thomas' writing makes you feel like she is a dear friend. You will go through feelings of grief, sadness, indifference, contentment, and happiness just as you would if she sat next to you and told you her story in person. This book is very insightful and was a joy to read. By the time my flight landed, I was wishing I had another hour to finish this wonderful book, so as soon as I got home I sat down and read straight to the end. Although it appears as if it may be sad and depressing, this book actually makes you feel hopeful and knowledgeable that while the future may hold unexpected turns, life goes on, and one can find happiness even in a time of tragedy.
Beautiful book, it's honest and touching. November 19, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I lovd this book - the author's honesty really comes through. It made me laugh out loud and come very close to tears. I loved it so much that I want to share it with my mom and sisters, but I can't bring myself to lend them my copy. So they'll each be getting a copy for Christmas!
 What the "Year of Magical Thinking" (Didion) Should have been... November 11, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Author's husband Rich Rogin suffers a permanent brain injury after being hit by a car trying to rescue their dog. The book puts the reader in her mind as she details how she lives her life with her new "institutionalized" husband while living with their old memories. Her memoir is beautifully written...austere and direct like Cormac McCarthy (The Road)...engaging like Richard Power's fantastic book The Echo Maker (also about brain injury) and far less stuffy, less "blue-blooded" and less pompous than "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion.
Beautifully written - and not depressing October 21, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I didn't mean to read this book. Listening to the author at a local book festival I was impressed by her quiet strength, realizing that this was now part of her tragedy, this regular retelling of still-fresh pain to strangers. I went home with an autographed copy.
I had thought this book would be too depressing, but I was wrong. From the beginning, the reader knows the love the author has for her husband and the meaning he gives her life even after the accident. The mind of her husband is like a work of surrealism with moments of reality mixed with intense insights and otherworldness. He is fascinating and delightful despite bouts of anger and confusion. The writing meanders from past to present, from one subject to another, yet there is somehow a feeling of connectedness, and it is like listening to a good friend ramble thoughtfully.
Yes, dogs are involved in this book, but they are not the main characters. The title is a play on an Aboriginal saying that the coldest of nights are "three dog nights," an apt description for this part of the author's life. Her three dogs are her comfort and give a sense of stability and normalcy to life in a house that is missing someone.
"A Three Dog Life" is a quietly beautiful and introspective look at surviving tragedy, an open and honest conversation of love and acceptance and inner strength mixed with smiles and a little laughter. I thank Ms. Thomas for sharing her life with strangers.
Heartbreaking But Beautifully Written October 17, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although the book is billed as a memoir, it's more of a collection of linked essays about Thomas's husband, her three dogs, and life and love lost. It's depressing, but will resonate with readers who have elder care issues of their own.
The writing is simple yet Thomas accomplishes everything she needs to in these 208 pages--fans of minimalist writers such as Amy Hemple will enjoy this book. It may not be the "best memoir" ever written as Stephen King's blurb states, but it is a very, very good essay collection.
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