Disaster-prone writer and reluctant dog rescuer Ken Foster never intended to adopt an abandoned dog. But after bringing Brando home, he finds it hard not to notice how many homeless strays there are in the city. Suddenly, he finds them everywhere--from a beagle abandoned in a New York City dog run to a pit bull in a Mississippi truck stop--and finds himself unable to resist taking them home. But what he gains from them in return is far richer than his own expense.
Their circumstances offer a grounding counterpoint to his own misfortunes: the shock of New York City after 9/11, the deaths of two close friends, the evacuation of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and the day his heart nearly stopped for good.He writes eloquently about the world of animal shelters, the nature of compassion, and the empowering effect of rescuing--and being rescued.
About the Author :
Ken Foster is the editor of two anthologies, including Dog Culture. His collection of short stories, The Kind I'm Likely to Get, was a New York Times Notable Book. His work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, and the Believer.
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.
Review :
"[A] beautiful and funny account of dog love...This light, deeply felt chronicle puts that bestselling confection Marley & Me in the shade."
-- "Cleveland Plain Dealer"
"Foster's dogs are memorable, delightful characters, with vivid, poignant stories. The Dogs Who Found Me is a testament to the joys dogs bring, and to the beauty in the work of saving them."
-- "René Steinke, National Book Award finalist for Holy Skirts"
"Generosity and gratitude power this compelling account of the reciprocal nature of rescue. Ken Foster illuminates a profound lesson about saving a life: Doing it makes you able to do it."
-- "Amy Hempel, author of The Dog of the Marriage and Reasons to Live"
"I read this at once, and could hardly bear to put it down. It delivers something crucial about bravery, the human spirit, and the place that dogs occupy in our landscapes. It's about confronting need, vulnerability, and love, and responding."
-- "Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Georgia O'Keefe: A Life"
"If you love dogs as much as Ken Foster, you will probably recognize yourself in much of The Dogs Who Found Me. You will remember your heart stopping or being shredded...only to be repaired with an even greater capacity to love."
-- "Terry Bain, author of You Are a Dog"
"Ken Foster writes about the human/canine bond with wisdom, insight, and great heart. This is a fascinating and useful book, full of great stories and practical knowledge. Ken's dogs are lucky to have found him, and so are his readers."
-- "Sean Wilsey, New York Times bestselling author of Oh the Glory of It All"
"Pitbulls pitbulls pitbulls, and a man, like me, who loves them. Alternately brutal and sentimental, like the lives of the dogs he rescues. A very very cool book."
-- "James Frey, New York Times bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces"
"An absorbing and quirky memoir...Foster's style is blunt, funny and poignant. He smoothly melds the events of his turbulent life along with the gritty details of rescuing abandoned dogs into a piece that goes to the heart."
-- "San Francisco Chronicle"
"As if channeling the frank and fundamental nature of dogs, Foster's sentences hide little pretense or poetry...[A] charming account of a life among dogs."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Warm, candid...not sentimental about the hard work of saving dogs but rather confident, reflecting [Foster's] belief that taking action on behalf of abandoned dogs is the right thing to do."
-- "Booklist"
