Girl On A Leash: The Healing Power of Dogs: a Memoir [Paperback]

Betty Lim King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1999

This book is a compelling account of a Chinese woman's journey from dysfunction to wholeness in the company of extraordinary dogs. Every chapter contains gripping, often witty, anecdotes about a different dog as she moves from Asia to America via Europe, each dog progressively moving her forward in the evolution of her soul. Her leash transmutes from tether into lifeline when she discovers and then shares with others, the great gift of the healing power of dogs. The book by King, who has been rescuing abused or abandoned dogs since her own pet was killed five years ago in the American South, blends tragedy and joy in her personal life with the theme of mutualism between humans and animals. Receiving help, she gives help. Every dog launches analyses of various cultures making us reflect on a number of human-animal issues such as the linkage of human violence and animal abuse, racist realities in all cultures, culture shocks in a Chinese family twice uprooted, and problems of marginality.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Can dogs heal people?

This memoir by an Asian-American gives trenchant testimony that animals can cross the species barrier to help a soul in distress. In a deeply personal incursion into the root causes of her own dysfunctions, Ms. King explores human-canine bonding in a rich variety of multicultural settings.

Living with dogs since childhood, the author traces her sojourn through time and place accompanied by various dogs. Each dog moves her forward on a parallel psychic path to resolve inner infirmities, firm up a sense of self-identity, unleash her potentials, and open wide the floodgates of her mind.

At the start of her journey she is a distraught member of a perfectly normal, dysfunctional Chinese family in Asia. The Confucian leash that tightly reined her in transforms itself into a magician's rope in Paris, pulling her back from the edge of the abyss. A foundling mutt drags her into many a delightful corner, launching the healing process. The murder of another companion pet in the American South and one jolting discovery after another ushers her into a more expansive, richer world of issues. With a clearer sense of purpose, she discovers that a secret to a sense of wholeness in one's life is a simple leash binding us to all creation. Such a leash cannot constrict, it liberates.

Incisively comparing the Asian to the Western mind, this Asian ventures into areas where Asians usually keep a tight lip. With her grounding in Asian Studies, and by candidly sharing her life experiences, she puts into sharp focus the complex panorama of the Chinese Diaspora. She weaves history into her stories, showing how political events can override and redefine the life of an immigrant family. Writing about the Nanyang, about which little has been written, she opens a Pandora's Box. In the light of the ongoing recession in Asia which makes scapegoats of the Nanyang Chinese and brings forth horror tales of rioting and atrocities against them, the book is both timely and relevant.

Differing cultural and religious attitudes toward dogs provoke comments from the author. By highlighting multicultural differences in the ways dogs are regarded and treated, much is revealed about the people in those societies. Aware of the love most Western peoples have for their pets, the author cleverly uses dogs to launch into commentaries about marginality, assimilation, migration, racist realities in all cultures. Using dogs lets her illustrate such live issues as: the similarities between exploitation of man by man and human exploitation of animals, the positive linkage between human violence and animal abuse, the contradictions in present-day China as they are reproduced in a Chinese family.

As an inspiring book about tolerance and compassion -- among races and between humans and other species -- every library and school should have it in their collection. America's disorderly souls should read this book; it will make them appreciate how animals can enrich and set their lives in order. In our overburdened lives we might have lost sight of our origins. To manifest oneness and affinity with their roots, ancient humans domesticated the wolf. Perhaps this is the reason why dogs are such great natural healers, for they are wolves with a human face.

In a few sentences, the book says much, making us reflect on a rich trove of issues.

From the Back Cover

Cast of characters:

Abu, who gouged a granddaughter's face with a tin can lid;

Chioti, who was ready to sacrifice her body to produce a son;

Joy, a Jewish-Chinese girl, whose capacious heart changes a dog's life;

Yama, a German Shepherd, whose fate left an indelible imprint in the young mind of a Chinese girl;

Rikki, a Chow, who gave up his life to protect a Chinese family;

Winchester & Hamlet, a Great Dane & Chihuahua, who together provided comic relief in the face of anti-Chinese agitation in Asia;

Cinnamon, a Poodle, and Ama, the Buddhist grandmother;

Kenneth, a miniature Poodle, whose probing eyes led a teenage girl to question her certitudes and put backbone where all was jelly;

Sulaika, a Saluki, who preferred the free wheeling, anarchic lifestyle of the Third World to a disciplined but bland life in the First World;

Kenneth II, an abandoned French mutt, ugly as sin, but irresistible as French chocolate, who introduced a diplomat's wife to the underworld of mongrels and transported her from one high adventure to another;

Camille, a well-travelled Asian-born Poodle, who charms the Vopos and crosses Checkpoint Charlie;

Chornley,a Borzoi, whose murder in an apparent hate crime, was a major turning point in the life of a Chinese girl in the American South;

Big Boss, a Sooner, whose job as a pet therapist for nursing homes become vital to his geriatric wellness;

ET, a hyperactive Jack Russell terrier, who teaches a boy on Ritalin to pay attention and how to channel his energies;

Missy, a flirt, who is bachelor DJ's passport to a lively social life;

Scruffy, a stray, who protects a boy from an indignant mother.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sanctuary Pr; 1 edition (January 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966595408
• ISBN-13: 978-0966595406
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,623,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not just an ordinary dog book!, February 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl On A Leash: The Healing Power of Dogs: a Memoir (Paperback)

It's more than that. As a sociologist I have learned much about the effects of multiple identities on the psyche of a Chinese American and appreciate how dogs came to her rescue. Her experiences will reverberate in your mind and heart.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Journey, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl On A Leash: The Healing Power of Dogs: a Memoir (Paperback)

An extraordinary story for everyone to read. A wonderful insight into the minds of people and dogs. The true tales of a young woman as she struggles with her heritage, growing up, racial issues and familial acceptance wonderfully combined with touching stories of her true love for dogs. You must read this book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE PET LOVER'S SOUL, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl On A Leash: The Healing Power of Dogs: a Memoir (Paperback)

I am interested in animal welfare and Asian culture, so for me a book combining the two is like finding a gem. The way out of an inner struggle is unique as it is admirable. It's wonderful to know that other cultures different from mine, love animals as I do -- maybe even more.