A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
When Abigail Thomas’s husband, Rich, was hit by a car, his brain shattered. Subject to rages, terrors, and hallucinations, he must live the rest of his life in an institu­tion. He has no memory of what he did the hour, the day, the year before. This tragedy is the ground on which Abigail had to build a new life. How she built that life is a story of great courage and great change, of moving to a small country town, of a new family composed of three dogs, knitting, and friendship, of facing down guilt and discovering gratitude. It is also about her relationship with Rich, a man who lives in the eternal present, and the eerie poetry of his often uncanny perceptions. This wise, plainspoken, beautiful book enacts the truth Abigail discovered in the five years since the acci­dent: You might not find meaning in disaster, but you might, with effort, make something useful of it. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
A Three Dog Life is a beautiful memoir. Abigail Thomas writes of tragedy with an honesty and grace that's admirable. Her story never comes off as depressing and she never seems bitter. She's a take life as it comes sort of lady. Thomas proves that life after tragedy can still be full and hold pleasure, especially with dogs.

*Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs for warmth on cold nights, the coldest being a "three dog night." - Wikipedia