What Is a Dog?: A Memoir
Written by Chloe Shaw
Narrated by Cissy Jones
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
On the heels of her family’s beloved dog’s death, one woman returns to the canines of her past in order to imagine the human she hopes to become in the future in her memoir, What Is a Dog?
Chloe Shaw is in a dog house of her own choosing. A married mother with kids, the death of Booker, her children’s eldest family pet, has left her reeling and reckoning with her lifelong relationship with dogs. Unable to shake the feeling a year later, she asks her family for some time alone to be with nothing but her thoughts and remaining canines, Safari and Otter—only to find the dogs of her past pawing at her every memory and running, sticks in mouths, back into her life.
What follows is a meditation on one woman’s life through the dogs she's loved and lost. Since she was a child, Shaw had learned to escape the hardest parts of being human by immersing herself in the lives of her canine companions, an adaptive attachment that carried her to adulthood. Yet, in marriage and motherhood, Shaw finds herself facing her most human struggles yet. Her old ways of “being the dog” in the face of hardship prove destructive, and it’s not until she’s able to love herself and learn from the dogs of her past and present that can she truly thrive as a person, and show up for the family who needs her to be their person.
With artful prose and a philosophical touch, Shaw takes us on an emotional journey anyone who has ever loved and lost a dog will connect with—and discovers dogs do more than just make our lives better—they quietly (and sometimes loudly) pull us boldly toward the person we were always meant to be.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books
"This poignant and gracefully written memoir amply embraces the complexities of the human-dog relationship in a uniquely personal way, and it’s also a moving story of self-acceptance."--Kirkus
"an elegant memoir... a heart-rending and heartwarming tale that will resonate with just about any mom out there." --Washington Post
Chloe Shaw
Chloe Shaw lives in Connecticut with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. What is a Dog? is her literary debut.
Related to What Is a Dog?
Related audiobooks
You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Will's Red Coat: The Story of One Old Dog Who Chose to Live Again Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Life Among the Underdogs: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Education of Will: A Mutual Memoir of a Woman and Her Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pukka's Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Dog: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Loyalty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Companions: Reflections on the Death of Pets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another Insane Devotion: On the Love of Cats and Persons Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf, Blind, Pink Puppy and His Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It's Just a Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rescuing Penny Jane: One Shelter Volunteer, Countless Dogs, and the Quest to Find Them All Homes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Dog. Stay. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Loved Dog: The Playful, Nonaggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loving Edie: How a Dog Afraid of Everything Taught Me To Be Brave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Dogs, Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Being a Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enslaved by Ducks: How One Man Went from Head of the Household to Bottom of the Pecking Order Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Dogs For You
Lucky Dog Lessons: Train Your Dog in 7 Days Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of Positive Dog Training Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dog Training For Dummies: 4th Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of Training Your Dog: How to Gently Teach Good Behavior Using an E-Collar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Service Dog: Training Your Own Service Dog And Training Psychiatric Service Dog (2 Books in 1 Bundle) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5From Fearful to Fear Free: A Positive Program to Free Your Dog from Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals Presents: Good Girl: Notes on Dog Rescue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: A Training Manual for Dog owners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meet Your Dog: The Game-Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog's Behavior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Dogs Learn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Raising a Puppy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Dog Is Your Mirror: The Emotional Capacity of Our Dogs and Ourselves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Puppies For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/530 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog: The Loved Dog Method Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Old Yeller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Am Bunny: How a ""Talking"" Dog Taught Me Everything I Need to Know About Being Human Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Puppy Training Guide for Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for What Is a Dog?
2 ratings0 reviews