While observing trainers of exotic animals, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used their techniques with the human animals in her own life–specifically her dear husband, Scott? As Sutherland put training principles into action, she noticed that not only did her twelve-year-old marriage improve, but she herself became more optimistic and less judgmental. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage reveals the biggest lesson Sutherland learned: The only animal you can truly change is yourself.
What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Playful, passionate, and practical.”—Redbook
“A compelling argument for using techniques from animal trainers to help change bad habits and improve relationships.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Sutherland’s a smart, engaging writer, and her stories about the hows and whys of exotic animal training are fun and fascinating.”—Boston Sunday Globe
“Part self-help guide, part animal psychology textbook and part memoir . . . Sutherland has a breezy style.”—New York Times Book Review
“In the little, private zoo known as marriage, it helps to remind yourself that you and your partner are just two bipedal primates trying to get along in intimate co-habitation.”—Globe and Mail
“Wise and pragmatic advice . . . The thing I love most about this book is that every other paragraph, Sutherland’s terrific wordsmithing, compelling logic, and anecdotes about exotic animals make me feel like she’s tossed me a biscuit.”—Martha Beck, author of Steering by Starlight and columnist for O: The Oprah Magazine
“Hilarious and persuasive.”—Good Housekeeping
“Invaluable . . . It succeeds nicely as an animal-training guide, and amusingly as a relationship book.”—Buffalo News
“A compelling argument for using techniques from animal trainers to help change bad habits and improve relationships.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Sutherland’s a smart, engaging writer, and her stories about the hows and whys of exotic animal training are fun and fascinating.”—Boston Sunday Globe
“Part self-help guide, part animal psychology textbook and part memoir . . . Sutherland has a breezy style.”—New York Times Book Review
“In the little, private zoo known as marriage, it helps to remind yourself that you and your partner are just two bipedal primates trying to get along in intimate co-habitation.”—Globe and Mail
“Wise and pragmatic advice . . . The thing I love most about this book is that every other paragraph, Sutherland’s terrific wordsmithing, compelling logic, and anecdotes about exotic animals make me feel like she’s tossed me a biscuit.”—Martha Beck, author of Steering by Starlight and columnist for O: The Oprah Magazine
“Hilarious and persuasive.”—Good Housekeeping
“Invaluable . . . It succeeds nicely as an animal-training guide, and amusingly as a relationship book.”—Buffalo News
About the Author
Amy Sutherland is the author of What Shamu Taught me About Life, Love, and Marriage; Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched and Cookoff. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Her feature piece “What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage,” on which this book is based, was the most viewed and most e-mailed article of The New York Times online in 2006. Sutherland divides her time between Boston and Portland, Maine.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By ChesterBear
Format:Hardcover
There is hope! After reading this, you will slap your forehead and think "Of course, why didn't I see that before"? This book gives some really good, practical advice on applying basic animal training techniques to improve our interactions with human animals. It makes you look at your own actions and behavior in a new light. And this book is a fun, light-hearted read; not some soul-searching, introspective quagmire. It's fast, it's fun and it's helpful (I hope)!
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a fast and fun read, but also thought provoking. The author uses her experience with animal trainers to illumine our interactions with humans. Ms. Sutherland is a good story teller and provides insights on how not to take everything so personally and make our relationships more relaxed. Some former reviews seem to be taking the premise of this book a bit literally. The author doesn't suggest that we treat people like animals. Just that teaching techniques can overlap. This is a funny, light-hearted and enjoyable read! It will provide great discussion for your book club.
40 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By D. Baldwin
Format:Hardcover
I thought this was a lot of fun--a funny story about how being around animal trainers helped the author learn to live more peacefully with the other animals in her life--her humans. As long as you're not looking for some kind of "12 steps to the perfect marriage" I'd recommend this book to anyone. Sutherland's light-hearted, and often self-deprecating, approach to the relationships in her life made me think about my husband, my friends, and especially my kids--I related to so many of the anecdotes--"Shamu" definitely made me see animal behavior and human nature through a new lens. A great late night read. Terrific book for your next book group!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting...For a While
We have a book club that selects books about human relationships and one of our members recommended this. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Jerry Maglio
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Shamu Taught Me..
A friend recommended this book and I loved it. I learned a great deal about myself and I've recommended this to many other people. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Jim M
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful information
This book was recommended by a therapist and I can honestly say it has helped before I hit chapter 3 !
Published 3 months ago by Aunt Kimmy
4.0 out of 5 stars
psychology review
Amy Sutherland writes a cute and fun story, but one that is also very informational on the psychological subjects of learning and behavior. Read more
Published 5 months ago by C. Garcia
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for psych majors or people interested in animal training
I went into this book thinking it was just going to be about a woman trying to train her husband to get him to do what she wanted, but it ended up being something smarter than just... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joe Wells
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good condition!
I loved this book! It helped me in my psychology class and it came in great condition. I loved it!
Published 5 months ago by Mara Conner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great little book
I was required to buy this book for a college class, and wasn't sure what to expect from it. It's actually a great book, and can teach you a lot about life and those around you. Read more
Published 5 months ago by NoVa ER LVT
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cute Book
This book is an easy read and really cute. The author Amy Sutherland studied animal training and later applied what she learned in her own life. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kailyn
4.0 out of 5 stars
animal training and its practical use
Overall it was a good read. To be honest, I was bored at the beginning of the book but as I learned what goes on behind the scenes of zoos and circuses I started to gain interest. Read more
Published 12 months ago by TheTeaDrinker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read
Just a quick fun read and hopefully will apply some of things to my marriage! My husband wont even know I learned these randoms techinques from a book about animal training! LOL
Published 19 months ago by Rachel H.
