I Have Heard You Calling in the Night [Paperback]

Thomas Healy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2007

T homas Healy was a drunk, a fighter, sometimes a writer, often unemployed, no stranger to the police. His life was going nowhere but downhill. Then one day he bought a pup—a Doberman. He called him Martin. Gradually man and dog became unshakable allies, the closest of comrades, the best of friends. They took long walks together, they vacationed together, they even went to church together. Martin, in more ways than one, saved Thomas Healy’s life.

Written with unadulterated candor and profound love, this soulful memoir gets at the heart of the intense bond between people and dogs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist Healy was a raging, brawling drunk until, on a whim, he adopted a Doberman pinscher puppy he named Martin. He nursed Martin through illness and wounds; Martin in turn stood guard over him while he lay passed out in fields. Their bond, and the slight but persistent duty of caring for Martin enabled Healy to very fitfully begin to recover from his alcoholism and propensity to violence and gently nudged him toward an understanding of himself and God. Healy embeds the story in a memoir of his life in the slums of Glasgow, his relationship with his parents, his conflicted attitude toward the church and his many loves, from a youthful encounter with a whore with a heart of gold to a mature affair with a boss who fired him after he makes clear that Martin is more important to him than she is. "It was not right that a man should need a dog as much as I had needed him," Healy acknowledges, but he makes no apologies that "for whatever reason, my best pal possessed four legs instead of two." In Healy's heartfelt prose, this eccentric friendship becomes the core of a moving meditation on the mysterious nature of redemption. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Up until he was nearly 40, Glasgow native Healy was living a tough, downward-spiral kind of life. He was a drinker, a fighter, and a mostly unemployed writer, and he was living with his mother, the only person who could put up with him. Then two things happened that changed his life: someone bought the film rights to one of his short stories, and he bought himself a Doberman pinscher puppy, whom he named Martin, after the man who bought the film rights. The offbeat, heartwarming relationship between the author and his companion--pet seems to miss the point entirely--makes up the bulk of the book, with frequent side trips into the past to show us Healy as he was before Martin (both Martins, actually) reversed the course of his life. Although evidently meant to appeal to readers of the memoirs of Frank McCourt (and his many imitators), the book stands firmly on its own two feet, and offers a revealing lesson in how quickly, and unexpectedly, a life can change. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (September 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156033712
• ISBN-13: 978-0156033718
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,720,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "It woke me nights, the bump of his chest upon the floor.", October 9, 2006

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Have Heard You Calling in the Night (Hardcover)

Perhaps when he chooses the Doberman puppy and takes him home, writer Thomas Healy knows a moment of hope, however brief, an impulse to care for other than himself in a downward spiraling life. It is many years before Healy is unburdened of his alcoholism and the diminishment of his soul, years of spiritual struggle and the insensible desire for drink. But the dog, Martin, injects another element into the lonely man's days, planting a seed that will take root over time and turmoil, finally releasing him from the bondage of his addiction.

Healy never considers himself a religious man, but Catholicism is in his bones, the DNA of this Scotsman and his family in Glasgow. Religion is part of the social fabric of their lives, in the home the author shares with his mother, the midnight masses they attend on Christmas Eve, in the prayers they say, the novenas he starts but never seems able to complete. Thomas is a drifter, unable to work at his former job, prone to wasting his days in alcoholic oblivion, sporadically sober, but never long enough to escape his demons or his sorrow. The years pass, leaving their mark on Healy's shredded psyche, faithful Martin ever at his side, best and only friend.

When Healy's elderly mother finally succumbs to a stroke, he is distraught; soon after she is sent to the hospital, he notices how badly the faithful Martin is failing as well. The loss of both is almost more than the bereaved man can bear. As Thomas unravels, the drink taking him nearer and nearer the precipice of no return, it is the memory of Martin and thoughts of his mother that buoy him through the darkest of nights. After years of degradation and loss of hope, Healy finds his way home, rediscovering his spiritual connections. In blunt, honest prose, Healy describes his horrendous journey, embracing every aspect of his life, his affections and his flaws, coming to terms finally with the brittle hubris that every alcoholic must face. Luan Gaines/2006.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of a Person Book than Dog Book, December 10, 2006

By 

Kirstin Steele (Charleston, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Have Heard You Calling in the Night (Hardcover)

A great story of how a dog can be a positive force in one's life. I was a little disappointed that the book focused more on the result of the positive force, than on the dog himself. But that's because I like dog books...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dogs, faith, and love, March 31, 2007

By 

Valerie Gronholm "wdirishrs" (Roswell, Ga USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Have Heard You Calling in the Night (Hardcover)

I finished this book last night and was sorry to have it end. I had really enjoyed looking forward to picking up where I had left off the previous reading. This story was well written because it was from the heart. An honest look at oneself by a man who was redeemed and given a second chance by his love for a dog. His deepening faith over a long period of time, as a Roman Catholic, was beautifully depicted, as was his love for his mother and his wonderfully supportive sister, Mary. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves dogs; has an addiction; or wants to read an inspiring story of increased faith by a very beautiful author. Hope you keep writing more for us!