Where the Trail Grows Faint: A Year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize) [Hardcover]

Lynne Hugo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005 | Series: River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize

"This is Hannah," Lynne Hugo introduces her chocolate Labrador retriever to an aged woman in a wheelchair at the Golden View Nursing Home. "Would you like to pat her?"

 

"I don't know," she responds warily. "Dogs are complicated."

 

So, of course, is life, especially as the years accumulate and the body declines. In fact, the most painful complications are those that Hugo hopes to ease with Hannah, her exuberant therapy dog. What Hugo receives in return, unexpectedly, is an outpouring of stories as the residents respond to Hannah’s antics and affection. As Hugo’s involvement deepens, she begins to see her own life and her care for her elderly parents in a new perspective. Interweaving the elders’ tales—of old loves and ancient dreams, abandonment and loneliness, and the struggle for dignity—with her own family’s story, she creates a richly textured collective portrait of the often-hidden world of the aged. At the same time, she crafts an eloquent meditation on the fundamental human need to nurture and remain connected to other people, to animals, and to the natural world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Ostensibly a book about therapy dogs, this thoughtful work also looks at the shortcomings of nursing-home life. Dog lovers will enjoy the antics of Hugo's chocolate Lab, who is a great icebreaker at a home, and will learn that dogs needn't be perfectly behaved to be good in their role (far from it, in this case). Readers also learn that residents too often can be neglected by family, even those who live nearby, and that the effects of this neglect are huge in already severely circumscribed lives. Teens volunteering, or contemplating it, at nursing homes and hospitals, as well as social-studies students, will get a great deal out of this sympathetic volume and will be much more understanding and able to help residents/patients in practical but small ways. A fine and sensitive book.–Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA
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Review

"Beautiful in its use of language and unsettling in its observations, this story was the worthy recipient of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Recommended not only for dog lovers interested in learning more about the training and accomplishments of a therapy dog but also for nurses, social workers, gerontologists, and anyone facing the prospect of long-term care for aging parents."—Library Journal

(Library Journal )

"This is a must-read for anyone interested in therapy dogs, the plight of nursing home residents, growing old and the basic human need to nurture and be nurtured."—Mike Nobles, Tulsa World

(Mike Nobles Tulsa World )

“Where the Trail Grows Faint is not just a book about a woman and her therapy dog, but a story of life, death, hope and the joy and comfort that animals can bring.”—Mary Howard, CC: Connecticut College Magazine

(Mary Howard CC: Connecticut College Magazine )

“A profound and heartfelt book. . . . Hugo is a tender and wise guide to the realities of aging, and Hannah, her chocolate Labrador retriever, who brings love and life to residents of a Midwest nursing home, is a true charmer. Where the Trail Grows Faint charts the territory with a rare spirit of hope.”—Floyd Skloot, author of In the Shadow of Memory

(Floyd Skloot )

“Hugo describes a kind of magic—magic that brings the joy of living back into the lives of elders living in nursing homes. Read her book and learn the secret.”—William H. Thomas, MD, author of What Are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World

(William H. Thomas )

“Lynne Hugo has penned a story that truly touches my soul. Her poignant descriptions of life confined within the walls of a nursing home provide an accurate and unsettling picture of existence for many, many people in our nation—those who work and those who live in these institutions.”—Sandy Ransom, RN, MSHP, Director, Texas Long Term Care Institute, Texas State University–San Marcos

(Sandy Ransom )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 143 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080322432X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803224322
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,270,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynne Hugo is an American author whose roots are in the northeast. She lives with her husband, the academic vice president of a liberal arts college, in the Midwest. They have two grown children, two grandchildren, and a chocolate Labrador retriever. A National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship recipient, she has also received repeat individual artists grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Ohio Arts Council. Her publications include five novels, one volume of creative non-fiction, two books of poetry and a children's book.

Ms. Hugo has taught creative writing to hundreds of schoolchildren through the Ohio Arts Council's renowned Arts in Education program. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Connecticut College, and a Master's from Miami University.

When an editor asked her to describe herself as a writer, she responded:

"I write in black Wal-Mart capri sweatpants. They don't start out as capris, but I routinely shrink them in the drier by accident. And I always buy black because it doesn't show where I've wiped the chocolate off my hands. Now that my son and daughter are grown, my previous high grade of 'below average' in Domestic Achievement has dropped somewhat. But I'm less guilty about it now. I lose myself in crafting language by a window with birdfeeders hanging in the branches of a Chinese elm towering over the house. When I come up for air, I hike by the ponds and along the river in a nearby forest with my beloved Lab. My husband, with whom I planted that elm as a bare root sapling, joins us when he can."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With Every Step It Takes, You'll Love This Book, April 23, 2005

By 

Debra Conner (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where the Trail Grows Faint: A Year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize) (Hardcover)

"What to make of a diminished thing" is the question Robert Frost asks at the end of his poem, "The Oven Bird." Lynne Hugo's marvelous book asks the same question as she and her therapy dog Hannah traverse the landscape of nursing homes, illness and loss, care giving and middle age. And like Frost, Hugo draws radiance from a somber subject. It's a book of heartache, but equally a book of laughter, with deep lessons about accepting change and finding grace in unlikely places. You'll forge a bond with these two wise travelers, human and canine, as they help us to define a life well lived.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Had difficulty putting this book down..., June 10, 2005

By 

Sharon Odle (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where the Trail Grows Faint: A Year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize) (Hardcover)

I have no great interest in either dogs or in gerontology, however, I do have a beloved 92 year old friend who has been in and out of two different nursing homes in the past year. Feeling the need for more information and support, I picked up TRAILS and decided to read it. What a good decision that was! I not only gleaned new insights,I was awed with the job Ms. Hugo did presenting such complex issues with balance, sensitivity, compassion and humor. This helpful and very readable book is not only a must for all of us who face making decisions about aging loved ones, but for those of us who want to make informed choices about our own futures.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am so glad I found this book!, April 29, 2005

By 

Connecticut bookworm (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Where the Trail Grows Faint: A Year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize) (Hardcover)

I LOVED this book! Having worked in a nursing home during summers in college, I know how sad some of them can be. I wish Hannah and Lynne had been around to bring light into the lives of the residents in the home where I worked. I laughed out loud as often as I shed a few tears while reading this book. I also felt compelled to read certain sections out loud to my husband (not a dog-lover) who got a chuckle out of them as well. Just coincidentally, we both attended a seminar about long-term care insurance a couple of days ago, when I was just midway through the book. I couldn't help but think that my discovery of the book was perhaps not entirely coincidental. I loved the notion that caregivers benefit as much as those being cared for, and that "creative nurturing" comes in all forms. "Anything counts, everything matters." Whether you're trying to help aging parents make decisions about their care, wondering how to plan for your own future, or just wanting to reflect on life, death, hope, and the joy and comfort that animals bring to us, I couldn't recomment a book more highly than this one.