A Three Dog Life

[A Three Dog Life]
Year: 
2006
Public: 
Publisher: 
MarBksHMH
Year of publication: 
2007
Pages: 
208
Moral assessment: 
Type: Thought
Nothing inappropriate.
Requires prior general knowledge of the subject.
Readers with knowledgeable about the subject matter.
Contains doctrinal errors of some importance.
Whilst not being explicitly against the faith, the general approach or its main points are ambiguous or opposed to the Church’s teachings.
Incompatible with Catholic doctrine.
Literary quality: 
Recommendable: 
Transmits values: 
Sexual content: 
Violent content: 
Vulgar or obscene language: 
Ideas that contradict Church teaching: 
The rating of the different categories comes from the opinion of Delibris' collaborators

Abigail Thomas was born in Boston in 1941. She currently lives in New York. In her autobiography "A Three Dog Life" she tells us about her intense life, during the five years after her husband Rich's serious accident in 2000. Abigail lost her husband, who was a journalist, thirteen years into their marriage. She was 60 and he was almost 70. They had met when they were older, she was 46 and he was 57, but it had been a wonderful love story. He didn't really die: he was run over while taking the dog for a walk, his head hit the ground and his skull cracked. He was operated on and saved his life, but, by then, Rich was no longer Rich, but a complete stranger: he had practically lost his memory. He had no memory of the past, not even what he had for dinner. He will live in a special residence, and Abigail will try to take care of him as best she can.

The back cover states that it is "a wise, beautiful and generous book, a fascinating and funny story of overcoming, which comes close to the truth that Abigail discovered in the years following the accident: we may not find meaning in disaster, but, with effort, it is possible to make something radically beautiful and useful out of it".

In these memoirs there is no reference to transcendence, but we find important human values, such as a married love that leads to sacrifice, to careful care in sickness, all with good humor. Abigail says she did not consider herself a nurturer, she was simply his wife. There are marginal references to her daughters, from a previous marriage; these will help her, along with her three pet dogs, get her through the most difficult times.

The work is very well written and can bring out good feelings in the reader. It will please, perhaps, especially the public who may find themselves in similar situations. It has no formal inconveniences.

Author: Ricardo Isla Bellvis, Spain
Update on: Sep 2023