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albare's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
logansqd's review
3.0
Recommend if seeking insight into history and transformative experience of working with guide dogs. Charming, touching, easy read.
mipsukka's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
nikki1211's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley for my honest review.
I was healing from a wounding failure to love my blindness.
The author, Stephen Kuusisto, grew up hiding the fact that he was blind. It was not something easily hidden, but it was more a lack of acknowledgement and accommodation of his disability by his mother. He never knew how to embrace his disability, having been forced to hide it. For the first time at the age of 38, he would finally acknowledge his disability and start his journey to acceptance and independence. His life would change after he chose to get a service dog, who would give him the confidence he needed to find his way in the world.
In the condensed version of guide-dog life, all at once everything is reachable. Reachable is a word sighted people rarely have to think about – but it’s one of the main coordinates of independence.
The book is written in way that you feel you are sitting in a coffee shop with Stephen and he is telling you about his story. It is very honest and real. I learned new ways of thinking about situations, not just involving disabilities, but how to be kind to all people. There are a few stories where Stephen could have easily been angry with those less tolerant of his disability, but he chose to diffuse the situations with kindness; the one thing the author portrayed was patience. He was often in situations where his conversations revolved around his disability, and further questioning about Corky’s role in aiding him. Because of his disability many people have treated him like he was less of a person. Not realizing that Stephen is person, just because he is disabled it doesn’t mean he can’t still think, have opinions and contribute to society.
I was in the dining room at a prestigious arts retreat, in a room where Yoko Ono once ate spaghetti and instead of discussing the arts I was describing light – that blind can often see it, that many see colors. And that those who don’t see anything at all still understand the world richly.
He had a beautiful relationship with Corky, and you learn just how much training and love goes into the process of training both the dogs and those in need of a guide dog. If anything, I learned so much of the training process and that these dogs are professionals and not pets and often need to be treated very differently by outsiders; the book describes the reasons why and Stephen provided many examples of situations he and Corky were in that give perspective to their working relationship.
Many books about service animals suggest they heal wounded people but this is a bit of a misrepresentation. Disabilities never vanish. What a dog can do is entice you back into the world.
Corky gave Stephen confidence. They both relied on each other. Corky was there to help guide Stephen and look out for dangers, but Stephen had to be in the lead. Guide dogs do not choose directions or make decisions, they take the lead from their owner.
Stephen, through his words, is a voice for those who are struggling as he did early on. He is proof that if you open yourself up to love, you will receive love in return. Corky sounds like an amazing dog, thank you for sharing your story.
thecurbau's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderfully pure book that details a disabled life with openness and an eager hope that people will listen, accept, and not try and turn blind folks into inspiration fodder. Bless Corky. You were a great dog.
beeshep's review against another edition
3.0
The way that this book was written was very foreign to me - I do not really read a whole lot of poetry so this would explain why. I think that disabilities are something that few people truly will ever be fully accepting of and I love that this book addresses this from the perspective of someone with a disability.
The understanding of disabilities will never be fully reached and it breaks my heart that Stephen had such a rough childhood. Clearly, someone who is so full of life, this dog helped him reach himself, something he never knew possible.
I think that this book could have gone a lot deeper personally. It could have touched more, told more stories, and really been a memorable one. The ending felt like it glazed over the lives of 4 nameless dogs, without ever really talking about the final moments of this "exceptional" labrador's life. I think it was a sweet story, but it did not leave me fulfilled.
The understanding of disabilities will never be fully reached and it breaks my heart that Stephen had such a rough childhood. Clearly, someone who is so full of life, this dog helped him reach himself, something he never knew possible.
I think that this book could have gone a lot deeper personally. It could have touched more, told more stories, and really been a memorable one. The ending felt like it glazed over the lives of 4 nameless dogs, without ever really talking about the final moments of this "exceptional" labrador's life. I think it was a sweet story, but it did not leave me fulfilled.
vercopaanir's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
I don’t rate memoirs but it’s tempting to rate this one 5 stars. Kuusisto’s prose is absolutely delightful. I think being a poet lends him the ability to use his words to affect our emotions in a way that not all authors are capable of. His relationship with Corky reminds me of my relationship with Blue, my own service dog, and it brought me so much joy to read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Ableism
Moderate: Eating disorder, Bullying, and Mental illness
Minor: Death and Animal death
ajsterkel's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
In the 1990s, the author lost his job as a poetry professor at a university and decided that he needed to get a guide dog and expand his world. He'd been blind since birth, but his parents saw his disability as shameful, so he learned to navigate without a dog or a white cane. It was extremely dangerous and left him confined to the towns he'd memorized.
The author completely transforms his life over the course of this memoir. For him, it was empowering to admit that he needed help and to educate himself about his disability. It takes an astounding amount of energy to pretend you're not blind. I love seeing how much joy and freedom he got from his dog. Even though this memoir touches on difficult topics (such as growing up blind with alcoholic parents), it's never depressing. It left me smiling.
I like the subject of this book, but the writing style is not my thing. I read the first 10 pages and said, "I'm pretty sure this dude graduated from Iowa Writers Workshop." Then he confirmed that he did! It's very easy for me to recognize their brand of insufferably pretentious weirdness. Sometimes the writing style is weird for the sake of weird. Also, the author quotes from a ton of other sources, so half the book is written by other people. It got on my nerves.
Even though I didn't like the writing, I want to find more stories like this one. I want nonfiction books about animals that are not textbooks and not sappy. I think Stephen Kuusisto found the balance between informational and readable. I appreciate that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Addiction, Ableism, and Alcoholism
amyiw's review against another edition
5.0
4 1/2
I want to give this a 5 but the end lost me in a bit too much philosophy. I don't think I've gotten there in life, maybe I never will. Still the first 80% was very good, great at many points, thought provoking, humorous, life changing (for him), and bit of thought on life and life choices, how we see ourselves and how this can change. I laughed quite a bit and thought quite a bit. I never have known a blind person really. I have a friend with very poor near vision but can drive. He is discriminated with jobs. Still a blind person that cannot easily travel in a new situation or area, no not really. After reading this I feel like a get a bit more of what it means. I also now know why you shouldn't pet a guide dog. I've met a few trainers actually and was told no to pets but not why. I didn't ask or push as I knew they had their reasons. I loved the dog love and learning dog of this book. Dog lovers will either love or really like this book. I was given this book by my step-mom and will give the audio to my adult son. I think he'll appreciate the life changes
I want to give this a 5 but the end lost me in a bit too much philosophy. I don't think I've gotten there in life, maybe I never will. Still the first 80% was very good, great at many points, thought provoking, humorous, life changing (for him), and bit of thought on life and life choices, how we see ourselves and how this can change. I laughed quite a bit and thought quite a bit. I never have known a blind person really. I have a friend with very poor near vision but can drive. He is discriminated with jobs. Still a blind person that cannot easily travel in a new situation or area, no not really. After reading this I feel like a get a bit more of what it means. I also now know why you shouldn't pet a guide dog. I've met a few trainers actually and was told no to pets but not why. I didn't ask or push as I knew they had their reasons. I loved the dog love and learning dog of this book. Dog lovers will either love or really like this book. I was given this book by my step-mom and will give the audio to my adult son. I think he'll appreciate the life changes