Jason Morgan

A great book. It is written so smoothly for what is covered. Smoothly going through the story of Napal spending his first 2 years as a puppy raiser for Napal, the canine hero of this story. Smooth telling of Jason Morgan and all he went through after being found crushed in a car crash and near drowned in a swamp. The crash and ordeal to survive and then live as a paraplegic. There is nothing smooth about what happened to him, but it felt so well written to take you through all that happened show more in the right level of detail and descriptions that smooth is the one that comes to mind as I write this.

Good details in the first half of the book, but what he is able to accomplish in the second half makes the book.

Napal is an extraordinary dog. I know that dogs can be trained to do amazing things, and that organizations like CCI that train dogs for service work are able to find the best dogs. I believe the average dog is amazing. Then you have an organization that takes amazing dogs to make them extraordinary (at a cost of approximately $50,000). Napal is a product of that. They are like Lassie but real. These amazing service dogs are just doing their job. In the book Napal just does his job, but when I really think of it and what they can do, I just want to say 'wow.' And the thing is, the physical activities Napal does, picking up car keys, bringing the wheelchair to him, helping with tasks, is actually not as huge as bringing happiness back to a person taking a person who could be foundering in pain and stress and despair.

The book is written with Jason Morgan's words, but it is coauthored by Damien Lewis. I know when I have had to create documents in the past, having great input makes it better and it looks like Jason deserves all the credit, but I am sure Damien Lewis is the reason the book is so exceptional. Damien Lewis's other books are among my all time favorite books with dogs.

Some of my favorite parts of the book is the italicized sentences that represent Morgan interpreting what Napal is thinking. Here is some examples but you will need to imagine them being italicized:

'I am the famous Napal. Which of you two-footed fellows is going to vote for me?'

'Here. Come on. That, what I did just there. Sometimes cuddles just aren't enough! That deserves a Cesar Softie!'

'I knew you could do it. I knew you could. Together, we've done it. We've done it all.'

I am putting this book in my list of favorites. Hope you enjoy it as much. show less

It's the beautiful story of a Wounded Warrior and his service dog but it also tell the backstory of the man that raised the dog from a puppy. Jason Morgan reveals a great deal of himself and the unimaginable that he went through to get his life back where he is today. It was, for him, an emotional roller coaster. Then this beautiful black lab came into his life and his world again turned upside down...but this time in a good way. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll thank God for your two good show more legs, and you will fall in love with Napal. I guarantee that you will absolutely never look at a person in a wheelchair the same way again. show less

A Dog Called Hope:A Wounded Warrior and the Service Dog Who Saved Him is the story of Jason Morgan. and his service dog Napal.

Morgan was a Combat Meteorologist with a Special Forces unit when a covert mission went awry and he suffered catastrophic injuries. Morgan was declared a paraplegic. Fighting unbelievable pain both physically and mentally, Morgan seized upon a ray of hope - Canine Companions for Independence. CCI provides service dogs free of charge to those in need.

A Dog Called Hope show more is Morgan's life story after that horrific accident - and the dog named Napal, who changed Jason's life.

Although we know accidents happen like this all the time, it is hard to listen to someone's personal story - the pain, the anguish and the grief. But I knew that Morgan had an important and uplifting message to impart. As a dog lover, I was already invested in this story simply from looking at the warm, wonderful and somehow wise face of Napal on the cover of the book. The journey through his accident, to CCI and Napal and afterwards is fascinating, uplifting and yes tear-jerking. (You're going to need a tissue for a few chapters) Morgan has made it his life's work now to spread the word about CCI and the service dogs they train. He now spreads that word as a motivational speaker.

I chose to listen to Morgan's story - the reader was John Moraitis. His voice fit the story of this soldier. He has a matter of fact, get on with life tone that suits this soldier's story. His enunciation is crisp, clean and easy to listen to and understand. I often find that listening to a book is much more intimate than reading - the listener becomes part of the story. And what a story this was!

Damien Lewis is an author who worked with Morgan on this book - and indeed plays a part in Napal's story.

While I found the writing slightly overly dramatic in spots, how can you give anyone's life story anything but a five? show less

The chapters bounce back and forth between the service dog puppy-raiser's experience with Napal and Jason, the wounded soldier who was on a covert mission in Ecuador when his jeep overturned and ran over him. Years later and confined to a wheelchair, the dog he's matched with not only can assist him, but encourage and love him, forcing him on a path forward. Very good read