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wordsofclover 's review for:
The Teachings of Shirelle: Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead
by Douglas Green
I received this book from the author/publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
But she was what all truly loved dogs are: She was, to someone, the best thing ever
This is a sweet memoir about a dog called Shirelle and all the lovely lessons she taught her human companion during her life.
This was a sweet book and while I don't think I got all the life lessons the author probably wanted me to from the text, I did just enjoy reading about a man who really, really loved his dog and who was his dog's world in return. The relationship between Shirelle and Douglas bordered more on life partner more so than parent/child the way you see in other dog/owner relationships and I like how much of a treasured yet respected companion Shirelle was in Douglas's life.
There were parts of this book that definitely bordered on tangents for me, and I did find myself wanting to skim through these parts before we got back to Shirelle and what she was doing at the time. I will say as well, I didn't really like how Douglas talked about the women in his life - I understand why he chose not to mention any of them by name but the way he used 'she' or 'her' rubbed me up the wrong way and I definitely would have preferred pseudonyms.
I did connect a good bit at the end of this book as Shirelle got older and little ailments began to affect her a bit more. As the owner of two aging dogs (16 and 11), I definitely understand the terrifying dilemma right now of a dog owner who isn't sure of when to draw the line between helping a dog and being selfish because I always need them around. Probably a part I'd recommend keeping some tissues beside you.
But she was what all truly loved dogs are: She was, to someone, the best thing ever
This is a sweet memoir about a dog called Shirelle and all the lovely lessons she taught her human companion during her life.
This was a sweet book and while I don't think I got all the life lessons the author probably wanted me to from the text, I did just enjoy reading about a man who really, really loved his dog and who was his dog's world in return. The relationship between Shirelle and Douglas bordered more on life partner more so than parent/child the way you see in other dog/owner relationships and I like how much of a treasured yet respected companion Shirelle was in Douglas's life.
There were parts of this book that definitely bordered on tangents for me, and I did find myself wanting to skim through these parts before we got back to Shirelle and what she was doing at the time. I will say as well, I didn't really like how Douglas talked about the women in his life - I understand why he chose not to mention any of them by name but the way he used 'she' or 'her' rubbed me up the wrong way and I definitely would have preferred pseudonyms.
I did connect a good bit at the end of this book as Shirelle got older and little ailments began to affect her a bit more. As the owner of two aging dogs (16 and 11), I definitely understand the terrifying dilemma right now of a dog owner who isn't sure of when to draw the line between helping a dog and being selfish because I always need them around. Probably a part I'd recommend keeping some tissues beside you.