Scan barcode
A review by booknerd_therapist
Dog Crazy: A Novel of Love Lost and Found by Meg Donohue
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I rarely write reviews any more, but this book made me so furious I figured I would write one.
I wanted to love this book. I am a therapist and I LOVE animal-assisted therapy. I have never denied a client a letter for an emotional support animal. In short, I thought this would be an ideal marriage of my two loves: mental health and animals.
Instead, it was a train wreck. You know from the first chapter they're going to find the dog, because the protagonist's entire worldview depends on it. So, no real suspense or anything. Just waiting for the thing to happen.
I could have been okay with that if Maggie wasn't such a horrible therapist. Every chapter felt like "Which ethics code are we violating today?" For starters, a therapist that is suffering severe mental health conditions -- and she is -- has an ethical responsibility to pause their practice and get help. Not once was that even a consideration. Sure, she relies on her friends, but does she ever actually get the professional help she needs to be a competent therapist? No. Even after her supposed big secret is revealed, she chooses to continue running her practice as usual.
Then, she pole-vaults over basic boundaries with a potential client to instead pursue a relationship with her as a friend. Can the reader even imagine if, say, a surgeon did this? "Nah, I'm not going to operate on you, but let's be besties instead?" This is wildly inappropriate, even though she did in the end return the check.
And because we're not done cringing yet, she knowingly violates ethics to pursue a romantic relationship with the not-client's brother. She even has a conversation with her friend about whether or not it's ethical, but her friend simply says "break the rules." Great advice.
Oh, but she is human, she has human feelings... Yes, we all do. Therapists, like anyone else, screw up sometimes. But she is never held accountable for anything, and never even admits she has done anything wrong.
This COULD HAVE been a lovely story about two people helping each other, but taking the rogue therapist angle was incredibly insulting to actual therapists. We are constantly dealing with negative backlash for every little thing people want to blame us for, and this author chose to put us in the worst possible light.
I wanted to love this book. I am a therapist and I LOVE animal-assisted therapy. I have never denied a client a letter for an emotional support animal. In short, I thought this would be an ideal marriage of my two loves: mental health and animals.
Instead, it was a train wreck. You know from the first chapter they're going to find the dog, because the protagonist's entire worldview depends on it. So, no real suspense or anything. Just waiting for the thing to happen.
I could have been okay with that if Maggie wasn't such a horrible therapist. Every chapter felt like "Which ethics code are we violating today?" For starters, a therapist that is suffering severe mental health conditions -- and she is -- has an ethical responsibility to pause their practice and get help. Not once was that even a consideration. Sure, she relies on her friends, but does she ever actually get the professional help she needs to be a competent therapist? No. Even after her supposed big secret is revealed, she chooses to continue running her practice as usual.
Then, she pole-vaults over basic boundaries with a potential client to instead pursue a relationship with her as a friend. Can the reader even imagine if, say, a surgeon did this? "Nah, I'm not going to operate on you, but let's be besties instead?" This is wildly inappropriate, even though she did in the end return the check.
And because we're not done cringing yet, she knowingly violates ethics to pursue a romantic relationship with the not-client's brother. She even has a conversation with her friend about whether or not it's ethical, but her friend simply says "break the rules." Great advice.
Oh, but she is human, she has human feelings... Yes, we all do. Therapists, like anyone else, screw up sometimes. But she is never held accountable for anything, and never even admits she has done anything wrong.
This COULD HAVE been a lovely story about two people helping each other, but taking the rogue therapist angle was incredibly insulting to actual therapists. We are constantly dealing with negative backlash for every little thing people want to blame us for, and this author chose to put us in the worst possible light.