To Dance with the White Dog
by Terry Kay
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Description
On the 25th anniversary of its first publication, here is the definitive edition of the book Archbishop Desmond Tutu called a hauntingly beautiful story about love, family, and relationships, now with a new preface from the author. Sam Peeks beloved wife of fifty-seven years, Cora, has died. His children are anxious. No one knows how Sam will survive. How can this elderly man live alone? How can he run a farm? How can he keep driving his dilapidated truck down to the fields where he cares show more for a few rows of pecan trees? When Sam begins telling his children about a dog that is white as a fresh-fallen snow but who is invisible to everyone else, well, his children are sure that grief and old age have finally overcome their father. But whether the dog is real or not, Sam Peek, one of the smartest men in the South when it comes to trees, outsmarts everyone. Sam and the White Dog dance from the pages of this bittersweet novel and straight into the readers heart as the two share the mystery of life and begin together a warm and moving final rite of passage as life draws to a close. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Sam Peek is 80 and lives in rural Georgia. He has just lost his wife Cora after being married 57 years, and can't gather himself. Then a strikingly white dog appears near his house and befriends him, although it avoids everyone else. Many of Sam's 7 children live nearby, and they worry about him, concerned that the to-them invisible dog is a sign of some kind of dementia. Particularly when Sam starts talking about the dog putting its paws up on his walker and dancing with him. Sam's onto his children's concern, and enjoys putting them on about it. There's a great scene where two of his daughters sneak up to the house at night in commando gear with blackened faces, trying to either see the dog or prove its non-existence.
Others start show more seeing the dog, and it accompanies him on a perilous journey (Sam doesn't drive well) to a class reunion. He loses his way, but his ability to attract kindness helps to some degree. "Maybe the lesson the Lord had intended for him to learn was in the white dog.... Maybe the dog was like the whale in the Jonah story, or like the lions with Daniel, or the doves of Noah's ark. Maybe the dog was the message and Sam Peek only the messenger." The book celebrates our being alive. It's funny and sad, and authentic about family relationships, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Four stars. show less
Others start show more seeing the dog, and it accompanies him on a perilous journey (Sam doesn't drive well) to a class reunion. He loses his way, but his ability to attract kindness helps to some degree. "Maybe the lesson the Lord had intended for him to learn was in the white dog.... Maybe the dog was like the whale in the Jonah story, or like the lions with Daniel, or the doves of Noah's ark. Maybe the dog was the message and Sam Peek only the messenger." The book celebrates our being alive. It's funny and sad, and authentic about family relationships, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Four stars. show less
To Dance With the White Dog - Terry Kay
4 stars
This was an impulsive Kindle bargain buy. I remembered the Hallmark movie and the bittersweet performances of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Or maybe, I just remembered that it was the last time the two of them worked together before Tandy passed away. I was prepared to keep my box of tissues handy. The story begins as the elderly Sam Peek is grieving the death of his wife.
I was actually surprised that the story didn’t drip with sentiment although it was heartfelt. I loved the old man’s relationship with his mysterious white dog. There’s that touch of magical realism hovering around the fortuitous appearance (and disappearance) of the white dog. I enjoyed the way Sam Peak used the show more unusual dog to tease his daughters and mess with their overly solicitous caretaking. I liked the way this old man coped with his limitations, accepting that the end of life was near, but refusing to stop living.
I appreciated this book’s portrayal of profound grief. It’s a short book and the character’s grief is there in every sentence. But, he isn’t only grieving. He makes plans and sets goals for himself. He takes an interest in current events and reflects on his life. He visits old friends and enjoys his extended family. He takes comfort in that white dog. This book checked all my warm fuzzy boxes. show less
4 stars
This was an impulsive Kindle bargain buy. I remembered the Hallmark movie and the bittersweet performances of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Or maybe, I just remembered that it was the last time the two of them worked together before Tandy passed away. I was prepared to keep my box of tissues handy. The story begins as the elderly Sam Peek is grieving the death of his wife.
I was actually surprised that the story didn’t drip with sentiment although it was heartfelt. I loved the old man’s relationship with his mysterious white dog. There’s that touch of magical realism hovering around the fortuitous appearance (and disappearance) of the white dog. I enjoyed the way Sam Peak used the show more unusual dog to tease his daughters and mess with their overly solicitous caretaking. I liked the way this old man coped with his limitations, accepting that the end of life was near, but refusing to stop living.
I appreciated this book’s portrayal of profound grief. It’s a short book and the character’s grief is there in every sentence. But, he isn’t only grieving. He makes plans and sets goals for himself. He takes an interest in current events and reflects on his life. He visits old friends and enjoys his extended family. He takes comfort in that white dog. This book checked all my warm fuzzy boxes. show less
What a delightful book. Sam Peek suddenly lost his wife of 57 years, leaving him with fretful, worrisome children who mean the best, but at times get in the way of how Sam wants to live his remaining years.
While driving his rickety, dilapidated truck down the country roads near his house, he notices a bright white dog frolicking in the field. Slowly, he gains the trust of the older dog and the two become soul mates.
Sam's children believe he is getting daffy because while he talks of the marvel of the white dog, only Sam can see him. Gradually they can notice the dog, but not with the wonderment of Sam.
This is a lovely tale of loss and of gain, of sorrow and joy, of adjusting to becoming older and of the time spent reminiscing wonderful show more memories.
Found on the library book sale table for .25, this is the best buy of the year.
Five Stars! show less
While driving his rickety, dilapidated truck down the country roads near his house, he notices a bright white dog frolicking in the field. Slowly, he gains the trust of the older dog and the two become soul mates.
Sam's children believe he is getting daffy because while he talks of the marvel of the white dog, only Sam can see him. Gradually they can notice the dog, but not with the wonderment of Sam.
This is a lovely tale of loss and of gain, of sorrow and joy, of adjusting to becoming older and of the time spent reminiscing wonderful show more memories.
Found on the library book sale table for .25, this is the best buy of the year.
Five Stars! show less
Sam Peek, 81, must adjust his life when his wife of 57 years passes away suddenly. He lives alone, walks with the aid of a walker, and drives his dilapidated truck down his farm road to tend his pecan trees. He has 2 daughters living within sight and 6 more children in the area. All are watching him closely. When he begins talking about a white dog hanging around who dances with him, his children get worried. Sam is telling the story and his sense of loneliness and independence come through in his memories, daily journal entries and interactions with remaining contemporaries. I love the scene where he tries to make biscuits by remembering how his wife used to do it, to disastrous results. A great poignant tale of aging.
Gentle, rude, touching, and puckish. An ambling story about an old widower ambling through the landscape of his final years. The following description captures the author's style. It caught my eye because, I, too, love the heat of August.
from pg. 105: "The heavy evening air was thick with the odor of grass and dust and flowering bushes. He inhaled slowly, deliberately, letting the perfumes seep into his senses. Other people did not like August because it seemed always hot and still, but August was one of his favorite times. In August, the seams of the earth cracked with a groundcover of growing, like a full, ripe flower spreading itself to the sun's heat, and the fragrance of the earth sweetened the air. He opened his mouth and let the show more air slide across his tongue, and he could taste its honey." show less
from pg. 105: "The heavy evening air was thick with the odor of grass and dust and flowering bushes. He inhaled slowly, deliberately, letting the perfumes seep into his senses. Other people did not like August because it seemed always hot and still, but August was one of his favorite times. In August, the seams of the earth cracked with a groundcover of growing, like a full, ripe flower spreading itself to the sun's heat, and the fragrance of the earth sweetened the air. He opened his mouth and let the show more air slide across his tongue, and he could taste its honey." show less
I heard of this book as it is on Wesley Banks '100 best dog books of all time' (2022). I put off reading it because of the ugly cover. As I was making my way through the other books on his list, (I think this makes like 57 out of the 100), I decided to tackle this one.
I saw some people rate it pretty high and there is even a review from Nicholas Sparks saying 'Quite simply, this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and one that I've reread at least a dozen times.' So I was pretty hopeful. I let that hope push me past the first 4 chapters that I didn't find that interesting.
Ultimately, the book never went anywhere that was that interesting to me. As the summary tells you, this book is about the (end) cycle of life stuff. It says, show more "The beloved bestselling story of an elderly man mourning the death of his wife and the mysterious white dog who helps ease his grief." Not sure where the 'beloved' comes in, but it is about an elderly man and includes a mysterious white dog. If you really like dramas, you may really like this book. It has very rich details on him and his thoughts, and his children's attempts to take care for him. I get this, as I am getting pretty old, and my father is getting even older still. It does make me ponder my father, my wife, and ultimately my own ends, but still not really a topic that is that exciting for me.
The dog to me was mostly hype. I don't want to spoil the mystery by giving much away here, but to me also didn't go somewhere that greatly interesting. The author had some fun playing with the mystery though, but the book overall didn't really do enough with a dog to make it a 'dog' book I would recommend.
The idea of a ghost dog is fun though. Here is one passage that I found fun:
“I seen ghost dogs,” she asserted. “Them dogs don’t bark. Don’t never know where they be hiding. You be looking at a ghost dog and you blink your eyes and they gone. Ghost dogs always coming around when somebody passes on. Babies, your daddy’s gone changed on account of that ghost dog. Where that dog now? That dog ain’t nowhere around. That dog with your daddy. That dog done took Mr. Sam off somewheres.”
So if you like richly detailed dramas you may really like this book. I found it similar as something like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which also had rich detailed writing but I didn't care to where it finally ended, this book could be for you. But if you are looking for a good 'dog' book, there is a lot more I would recommend. show less
I saw some people rate it pretty high and there is even a review from Nicholas Sparks saying 'Quite simply, this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and one that I've reread at least a dozen times.' So I was pretty hopeful. I let that hope push me past the first 4 chapters that I didn't find that interesting.
Ultimately, the book never went anywhere that was that interesting to me. As the summary tells you, this book is about the (end) cycle of life stuff. It says, show more "The beloved bestselling story of an elderly man mourning the death of his wife and the mysterious white dog who helps ease his grief." Not sure where the 'beloved' comes in, but it is about an elderly man and includes a mysterious white dog. If you really like dramas, you may really like this book. It has very rich details on him and his thoughts, and his children's attempts to take care for him. I get this, as I am getting pretty old, and my father is getting even older still. It does make me ponder my father, my wife, and ultimately my own ends, but still not really a topic that is that exciting for me.
The dog to me was mostly hype. I don't want to spoil the mystery by giving much away here, but to me also didn't go somewhere that greatly interesting. The author had some fun playing with the mystery though, but the book overall didn't really do enough with a dog to make it a 'dog' book I would recommend.
The idea of a ghost dog is fun though. Here is one passage that I found fun:
“I seen ghost dogs,” she asserted. “Them dogs don’t bark. Don’t never know where they be hiding. You be looking at a ghost dog and you blink your eyes and they gone. Ghost dogs always coming around when somebody passes on. Babies, your daddy’s gone changed on account of that ghost dog. Where that dog now? That dog ain’t nowhere around. That dog with your daddy. That dog done took Mr. Sam off somewheres.”
So if you like richly detailed dramas you may really like this book. I found it similar as something like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which also had rich detailed writing but I didn't care to where it finally ended, this book could be for you. But if you are looking for a good 'dog' book, there is a lot more I would recommend. show less
I heard of this book as it is on Wesley Banks '100 best dog books of all time' (2022). I put off reading it because of the ugly cover. As I was making my way through the other books on his list, (I think this makes like 57 out of the 100), I decided to tackle this one.
I saw some people rate it pretty high and there is even a review from Nicholas Sparks saying 'Quite simply, this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and one that I've reread at least a dozen times.' So I was pretty hopeful. I let that hope push me past the first 4 chapters that I didn't find that interesting.
Ultimately, the book never went anywhere that was that interesting to me. As the summary tells you, this book is about the (end) cycle of life stuff. It says, show more "The beloved bestselling story of an elderly man mourning the death of his wife and the mysterious white dog who helps ease his grief." Not sure where the 'beloved' comes in, but it is about an elderly man and includes a mysterious white dog. If you really like dramas, you may really like this book. It has very rich details on him and his thoughts, and his children's attempts to take care for him. I get this, as I am getting pretty old, and my father is getting even older still. It does make me ponder my father, my wife, and ultimately my own ends, but still not really a topic that is that exciting for me.
The dog to me was mostly hype. I don't want to spoil the mystery by giving much away here, but to me also didn't go somewhere that greatly interesting. The author had some fun playing with the mystery though, but the book overall didn't really do enough with a dog to make it a 'dog' book I would recommend.
The idea of a ghost dog is fun though. Here is one passage that I found fun:
“I seen ghost dogs,” she asserted. “Them dogs don’t bark. Don’t never know where they be hiding. You be looking at a ghost dog and you blink your eyes and they gone. Ghost dogs always coming around when somebody passes on. Babies, your daddy’s gone changed on account of that ghost dog. Where that dog now? That dog ain’t nowhere around. That dog with your daddy. That dog done took Mr. Sam off somewheres.”
So if you like richly detailed dramas you may really like this book. I found it similar as something like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which also had rich detailed writing but I didn't care to where it finally ended, this book could be for you. But if you are looking for a good 'dog' book, there is a lot more I would recommend. show less
I saw some people rate it pretty high and there is even a review from Nicholas Sparks saying 'Quite simply, this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and one that I've reread at least a dozen times.' So I was pretty hopeful. I let that hope push me past the first 4 chapters that I didn't find that interesting.
Ultimately, the book never went anywhere that was that interesting to me. As the summary tells you, this book is about the (end) cycle of life stuff. It says, show more "The beloved bestselling story of an elderly man mourning the death of his wife and the mysterious white dog who helps ease his grief." Not sure where the 'beloved' comes in, but it is about an elderly man and includes a mysterious white dog. If you really like dramas, you may really like this book. It has very rich details on him and his thoughts, and his children's attempts to take care for him. I get this, as I am getting pretty old, and my father is getting even older still. It does make me ponder my father, my wife, and ultimately my own ends, but still not really a topic that is that exciting for me.
The dog to me was mostly hype. I don't want to spoil the mystery by giving much away here, but to me also didn't go somewhere that greatly interesting. The author had some fun playing with the mystery though, but the book overall didn't really do enough with a dog to make it a 'dog' book I would recommend.
The idea of a ghost dog is fun though. Here is one passage that I found fun:
“I seen ghost dogs,” she asserted. “Them dogs don’t bark. Don’t never know where they be hiding. You be looking at a ghost dog and you blink your eyes and they gone. Ghost dogs always coming around when somebody passes on. Babies, your daddy’s gone changed on account of that ghost dog. Where that dog now? That dog ain’t nowhere around. That dog with your daddy. That dog done took Mr. Sam off somewheres.”
So if you like richly detailed dramas you may really like this book. I found it similar as something like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which also had rich detailed writing but I didn't care to where it finally ended, this book could be for you. But if you are looking for a good 'dog' book, there is a lot more I would recommend. show less
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Terry Kay was born February 10, 1938 in Royston, Georgia. He grew up there and became a well-known novelist. Perhaps his most well-known book is To Dance with the White Dog, which was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in 1983. He is also the author of such best-selling works as Dark Thirty, show more Shadow Song, After Eli, and The Runaway, which was adapted for the screen. He won an Emmy for his screenplay Run Down the Rabbit. Kay's novel The Valley of Light won the 2004 Townsend Prize for Fiction and was also adapted for the screen. He won the 1981 Georgia Author of the Year Award for After Eli, and the Southeastern Library Association named him Outstanding Author of the Year in 1991 for To Dance with the White Dog. He published The Book of Marie in 2007. His last book, The Forever Wish of Middy Sweet, was published in August 2020. Terry Kay died on December 12, 2020 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) Terry Kay, Terry Kay grew up in Royston, Georgia on a farm that had no electricity. He was an entertainment reporter at the Atlanta Journal where he reviewed over 300 films a year. Needing more money, he took the position as creative director for a television and film development company. That job lasted a year, and he went on to public relations. Kay wrote the bestseller "To Dance with the White Dog," which Kay describes as "more of a translation of what had happened in my family than the creation of a book," and "The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene." Aaron Greene is a shy teenager who works as a mail boy at a bank and whose family could never afford the ten million dollars his captors are demanding. The story tells of the philosophical motives the kidnappers have for this unlikely abduction, which sets off a nationwide frenzy to find this average boy. Terry Kay published 18 books, including a collection of essays, and two children's books. His last book, The Forever Wish of Middy Sweet, was published in August 2020. He died on December 12, 2020 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
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Has the adaptation
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- To Dance with the White Dog
- Original title
- To Dance With The White Dog
- Original publication date
- 1990
- Related movies
- Hallmark Hall of Fame: To Dance with the White Dog (1993 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- This book is dedicated with love to my sisters and brothers -
Lula, Jean, Sara, Nell, Betty, Toombs, Patsy, Peggy, John and Gary -
who saw the white dog dance; also
to the memory of our brother Thomas, who has been for me the hero of wonderful legends which exist inexplicably, yet vividly, in my imagination. - First words
- He understood what they were thinking and saying: Old man that he is, what's to become of him?
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then he saw them: across the chest of sand on the grave of Robert Samuel Peek, he saw the paw prints, prints so light they could have been made by air.
- Blurbers
- Conroy, Pat; Siddons, Anne Rivers; Sibley, Celestine
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