A Three Dog Life (Hardcover)

by Abigail Thomas (Author)
Key Phrases: Northeast Center, Outsider Art, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Stephen King's front-cover endorsement of Thomas's memoir as the best he's ever read—and a "punch to the heart"—will surely pique interest in this wrenching, elegiac portrait of her third husband, Rich, who flounders in a miasmic present after a hit-and-run in their Manhattan neighborhood shatters his skull, destroys his short-term memory and consigns him to permanent brain trauma. A deft balance of fevered pathos and dark humor link this memoir, in spirit and theme, to Safekeeping, Thomas's collected vignettes that memorialize her second husband. But Thomas also finds wellsprings of inspiration in her tragicomic interactions with Rich and in the self-reliance she's forced to develop, aided by her faithful dogs (the book's title adapts an aboriginal phrase, derived from the tradition of cuddling with dogs on frigid nights). Rich—himself reminiscent of a Stephen King eccentric—utters eerily prescient, absurdly poetic non sequiturs, probing the essence of time and love with ingenuous intuition, though his acute paranoia and confusion make these exchanges truly heartbreaking. Thomas's quick-cutting chronology and confessional narration subtly re-enacts the soupiness of her husband's mind, even as she quietly thanks him for the wisdom of living in the present. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
In these exquisitely written essays Thomas reflects on how her marriage had to be reinvented after the night her husband, Richard, took their dog, Harry, out for a walk, and Harry came home alone. Richard had been hit by a car and was lying bleeding in the street. The traumatic head injury he suffered didn't kill him, as attending police had predicted it would, but it rendered him susceptible to large-scale memory loss, hallucinations, and such wild rages that Thomas was forced to commit him to an institution. Lesser events have destroyed relationships, so it would not be surprising to learn that Thomas abandoned Richard. She didn't. Instead, she sold their New York apartment, moved upstate to be near him, and acquired two more dogs to keep her company. What's more, she can't imagine life without her husband, saying, "It would be like falling through space with a parachute but no planet to land on." Thomas has elevated what could be, at best, an overemotional sermon or, at worst, a grim romp in self-pity to a high plain of true inspiration. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt; 1 edition (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151012113
• ISBN-13: 978-0151012114
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #250,753 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rave Review for A Three Dog Life, September 19, 2006

By	O. Brown "Ms. O. Khannah-Brown" (Twopeas, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

*****
This book is sweet, poignant, and beautiful. It is also gut-wrenchingly honest and realistic about the author's attempts to cope with her life after her husband has a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). He gets hit by a car while walking their dog and their lives are never the same. This memoir is about the author's life and marriage after the accident and for the next five years, until the present day. I loved reading it. I haven't really ever read a book like it.

The author builds herself a life, accompanied by what ends up being three dogs altogether. She still takes joy in her marriage, such as it is. I wish I could put into words how beautiful this book is, but I can't. It is a lovely book with mature topics (grieving, survivor guilt, etc.) for adults or especially mature teens. Highest recommendations.
*****

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's 2am and I'm reading "A Three Dog Life" again....., September 19, 2006

By	David Caplan "Dave C." (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

......enjoying it so much that when I finished, I felt that my best old friend had left me. Afraid to let go, I had to start reading it again, so we could re-unite. I found new gems with every re-read, and appreciated the writing, warmth and feeling even more than the first time in a way that love/like is not supposed to work.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief, lovely read, September 28, 2006

By	Gillian B. Cieri (West Palm Beach, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This memoir managed to be both incredibly sad and yet positive and life-affirming at the same time. Abigail Thomas describes the journey she must take in the years after her husband's accident and how she manages to progress from inner turmoil (and at times, the inability to function at all), to a place where she is at peace with her life. Though her husband must remain at a hospital for brain-injured patients, she is able to bring him home for visits and spends time with him at the center. The comments and thoughts from his head are so fascinating...I found myself eagerly waiting to see what he would say the next time. Just wondering about the brain and all that we don't know about it is truly amazing to me. Sometimes he makes pronouncements that appear so profound, and other times he seems in total confusion, and while it's incredibly heartbreaking, it's also mesmerizing to read their conversations together.
As for Thomas' relationship with her three dogs, she describes it beautifully. I would think any dog owner, as I am, can relate to the description of bed-crowding and jostling for the most attention, but mainly to the bond that forms between human and animal.