A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
Wow, this book caught me offside! To give you a bit of a background, I am a pale, stale, middle age male who is on a journey emotional enlightenment (all journey and no destination). I grew up in stiff upper lip Britain where you don’t talk about emotions. Fast forward 20 years and this isn’t enough – I want more, so I read this book, I highly recommend you do too!
This book literally physically moved my heart – I have never cried reading a book before, this was a first for me and I cried so much that I had to stop reading it to recover and then carry on later (had I been in Friends I would have put it in the freezer)
It wasn’t all tears, there was roars of laughter too, bitter sweet is definitely a good descriptor! This book made me look at my own pooch with new eyes – I love that furry duffer. Anyway, less about the background and more about the book.
It was good, read it!
Just kidding.
This is the story of Baily’s (protagonist) search for meaning (and as the title would suggest, purpose). While Baily is a dog we learn about his thoughts and feelings as he works through his world working out that purpose thing – a question we ask ourselves!
The love and loyalty between (wo)man and (wo)man’s best friend is apparent throughout. Baily experiences trials and tribulations but of note loss throughout the book. For those of us that have lost love ones (human or furry) may identify with the theme throughout the book.
The authors understanding of Dog’s is second to none and they really capture life through the eyes of the four legged! I would highly recommend this book for all age groups and genders, especially if you are a middle-aged man trying to find the emotions you have been taught to bury for decades.
There is a twist which I won’t spoil here as I don’t wish ruin a good read – plus how I experience the twist won’t be the same as you may, this is a good read to lose and find yourself in. For movie/book fans this was cast into a film which I haven’t watched and therefore unable to pass judgement on!
Photo credit: https://adogspurpose.com/