Lee Montgomery

Well-written, sad family story of the cancer death of author's beloved father and the reactions & recollections of other family members, including her long-drunk mother, clutching a mayo jar of gin & mint as she shuffles along on her purple walker, singing her heart out.

Well-written, sad family story of the cancer death of author's beloved father and the reactions & recollections of other family members, including her long-drunk mother, clutching a mayo jar of gin & mint as she shuffles along on her purple walker, singing her heart out.

"Sleeping with Dogs on a King-Size Bed" by Abigail Thomas, who wrote Three Dog Life, is perfect. "The Leash" by Tom Grimes is nostalgic and beautiful. A few of the essays are depressing because the writers' lives seem to be so miserable, but don't give up. Most of the essays are what you hope an essay about a dog will be--warm, funny, eccentric.

Let me save you the time:

Dogs are awesome. Dogs die. The end.