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montyskid's review
5.0
This book is something I didn't know I needed. This is a beautiful story about Stephen Kuusisto getting his first seeing eye dog at the age of 39. Before that he pretty much pretended that he could see. Kuusisto's relationship with his dog is beautiful. It was so cute and how he pushed himself to be better. I really loved this book.
kaltizer's review
5.0
This book will stick with me. The language was beautiful and so authentic, and I learned a lot from reading about his experiences.
heatherr's review
The thing that I found absolutely amazing about this memoir is that the author was raised to not let anyone know that he was blind. How do you even do that? There is a very scary story about the time he rented a motor scooter and drove around the mountains in Santorini following the red blob that was his friend.
His mother was adamant that being blind meant that he was defective. He should never let anyone know. That meant memorizing the small towns he lived in. Reading by holding the paper up to his left eye. Living a life made difficult by a disability but almost impossible by a lie. Seriously, his mother needed a good whooping.
At 38 he was forced to make a change. He got his first guide dog. He was now open about his blindness. It changed his entire life.
This book is a tribute to the freedom found in living your true life and the way that is enhanced by his guide dog. The author is a poet and that is obvious in his lyrical writing style. He is a very philosophical person who deeply considers things that others may gloss over.
I appreciated the fact that he discussed the professionalism of real service dogs. He worries about the damage being done by people registering out of control pets as emotional support dogs just so they can take them anywhere. (One of my major pet peeves!) He explains that there still is resistance to and ignorance of guide dogs for the blind now. I wouldn't have thought it would be so common.
I was a guide dog puppy raiser. (My puppy passed his temperment and training tests but failed his physical.) He talks a lot about the importance of puppy raisers and the trainers who work with the dogs. You find out who the process works.
For the dog lovers, this story starts in 1994. That means that the dog does die before the book was written. It is discussed but not dwelt on.
This is a wonderful book for dog lovers everywhere. All dogs can change your life but Corky the labrador revolutionized her person's. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
avalinahsbooks's review
5.0
Have Dog, Will Travel by Stephen Kuusisto is an incredibly touching love song to dogs – not just guide dogs as a means for a person to be enabled, to experience so much more freedom, but simply the ever loving nature of these wonderful creatures and how they can transform a person's life. You will not simply finish this book and walk away. It will lodge itself into the depth of your heart and never let you go. ★★★★✬ 4.5 stars.
Stephen Kuusisto should have been declared legally blind as a child – the only reason he wasn't was because his parents thought their child would have a very hard life if he was considered blind. So they told him to hide it, to pretend (it's a common misconception that all blind people don't see at all – a person can be legally blind and see shapes or read text with the page right in their face.) How Stephen managed to live half of his life this way and even teach students remains a mystery to me – nothing short of a miracle. But the real miracle in his life isn't the fact that he spent half of it pretending to be able to see just fine – it's the fact that one day he had enough. And that's when he decided to request a seeing eye dog. And it changed EVERYTHING.
Have Dog, Will Travel is the story of this change. And it's nothing short of amazing. The story goes through the exhillaration of freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of choice, so many freedoms suddenly within Stephen's grasp. But it's not just that. It's also the freedom to love and be loved. The freedom to be allowed to be yourself. To accept yourself. And to learn to find your footing.
Read more about how guide dogs give the blind people more freedom and loving acceptance in my full review on my book blog here. There you will also find more from this book about how you should NOT treat a blind person and generally avoid being ableist.
I thank Simon & Schuster for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.
Read Post On My Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
Stephen Kuusisto should have been declared legally blind as a child – the only reason he wasn't was because his parents thought their child would have a very hard life if he was considered blind. So they told him to hide it, to pretend (it's a common misconception that all blind people don't see at all – a person can be legally blind and see shapes or read text with the page right in their face.) How Stephen managed to live half of his life this way and even teach students remains a mystery to me – nothing short of a miracle. But the real miracle in his life isn't the fact that he spent half of it pretending to be able to see just fine – it's the fact that one day he had enough. And that's when he decided to request a seeing eye dog. And it changed EVERYTHING.
Have Dog, Will Travel is the story of this change. And it's nothing short of amazing. The story goes through the exhillaration of freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of choice, so many freedoms suddenly within Stephen's grasp. But it's not just that. It's also the freedom to love and be loved. The freedom to be allowed to be yourself. To accept yourself. And to learn to find your footing.
Read more about how guide dogs give the blind people more freedom and loving acceptance in my full review on my book blog here. There you will also find more from this book about how you should NOT treat a blind person and generally avoid being ableist.
I thank Simon & Schuster for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.
Read Post On My Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
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