A Three Dog Life

by Abigail Thomas

Book Overview

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 institu-tion. 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156033232
• ISBN13: 9780156033237
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A small gem, expertly cut

In her memoir of her life after the traumatic brain injury to her husband, Rich, Abigail Thomas gives us all something to live for. Hope can be not just for the future, but also for the present. Thomas's descriptions of her husband, her dogs, her house, even her socks, show us how to knit a pattern of courage when faced with life's vicissitudes. This is a small book, easily read in one sitting, but one that you will want to read again and again.

A voice to be heard

I discovered A Three Dog Life through an article in the New York Times this summer. An excerpt from Abigail Thomas's book appeared in the column, Modern Love. She titled it: "My Husband Survived, the Man I Married Didn't." That is the crux of her book. And with this title, she got me. I, too, have a husband who survived a traumatic brain injury (stroke), and the man I married did not fully survive either. Thomas's writing is poetic, courageous, and raw. Her story is the pain and joy of the human condition distilled in a small volume. Thomas weaves a new cloth of love from what was and what is now, looking for the meaning of life in the simple and the mundane, and appreciating both with keen insight. Abigail Thomas, the woman, discovers hard and wonderful truths about herself, and is wise enough to learn from her husband the infinite value of just one moment of life, lived in the present. As a writer, she shares generously with us the wisdom she has aquired, but did not ask for. Although this book looks at tragedy head-on, it is filled with beauty and humor. I laughed out loud, as well as cried while reading it. And when I finished it, I immediately started it over again. A Three Dog Life is a gift of a read, but to one who loves someone with a traumatic brain injury, it is a measure of sanity in a life forever changed. She "gets it" and writes honestly and poignantly about this journey, a rare combination.

Rave Review for A Three Dog Life

***** 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. *****

read this book!

This book is like a small but perfect diamond. It is cut and faceted to shape a story that will resonate with the reader for a long time. At least that's how I felt after reading it.

It's 2am and I'm reading "A Three Dog Life" again.....

......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.