Meredith Mancuso is depressed. Ever since the death of her fiancé, she has shrunk from the world. Even with her successful writing career, she's not motivated to work. When her sister, Monica, begs for a favor, Meredith wants nothing more than to say no. But she’s ultimately roped into pet-sitting an orphaned Yorkshire terrier named Prozac.
Blessed with spiritual wisdom and a high IQ, Prozac is an active pet therapy dog. To heal broken-hearted Meredith, he rallies his fan club at Evergreen Gardens, an independent living facility, where he visits each week.
Prozac and the community of resilient older folks challenged by losses of their own propel Meredith, often against her will, back into the land of the living. Meredith learns that most people carry some sort of burden, but it's still possible to find meaning, purpose, and joy—and sometimes, even love—along the way.
Blessed with spiritual wisdom and a high IQ, Prozac is an active pet therapy dog. To heal broken-hearted Meredith, he rallies his fan club at Evergreen Gardens, an independent living facility, where he visits each week.
Prozac and the community of resilient older folks challenged by losses of their own propel Meredith, often against her will, back into the land of the living. Meredith learns that most people carry some sort of burden, but it's still possible to find meaning, purpose, and joy—and sometimes, even love—along the way.
Kathleen Gerard is a writer whose work has been awarded The Perillo Prize, The Eric Hoffer Prose Award and nominated for Best New American Voices and Short Story America, all national prizes in literature. Kathleen writes across genres. Her short prose and poetry have been widely published in magazines, journals and anthologies. Her essays have been broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR).Kathleen’s woman-in-jeopardy novel In Transit won The New York Book Festival – “Best Romantic Fiction” (2011). Kathleen is a book reviewer for and a contributor to Shelf Awareness and maintains the blog, “Reading Between the Lines.”
I loved this book from page 1. Meredith, suffering from depression after her fiancee passes away, is unable to fill the wish stated in the will to continue her writing career. Her sister drops off a dog named Prozac, as a client of hers can no longer take care of Prozac. Prozac comes with a very full social calendar that includes visiting many nursing homes. Meredith will do anything to get rid of this dog. This book had many laugh out loud moments and moments were I teared up.
I give this book 5 stars, as I loved how it was told from 2 points of view- Meredith's and Prozac's and each told a different story. I also loved how the author brought the life back to Meredith as she takes care of Prozac. I loved Prozac's stories and the author did a fantastic job of bringing Prozac to life on the pages of the novel.
*I received this book in exchange for my unbiased review. #MMBBR
Thank you so much for featuring THE THING IS on the blog...and thank you for the thoughtful review. Much appreciated!
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