The Thing Is

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.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Dogs have always seemed like part of the family to me. I've had at least one pet dog since I was a little girl and my parents bred Dalmatians. However, I tend to stay away from pet focused novels because they seem to end in tragedy and tears. The Thing Is by Kathleen Gerard may certainly bring tears to a few readers, hopefully the reaction will be caused by the uplifting and heartfelt storyline.

 

Meredith and Prozac are the main characters of this novel. Meredith is a woman who lost the love of her life to a one-in-a-million situation and now she can't move on. She's incredibly depressed, has no idea who she is anymore, and hides herself from the world. Readers will sympathize with Meredith undoubtedly. It's heartbreaking to hear about those things happening, even more so when you get all the details. Readers will definitely be praying for Meredith to find peace with what has happened and move back into the world of the living. And Prozac will certainly help with that.

 

Prozac is a cute little terrier who works as a Therapy Dog and some of the book is written from his point of view, which was quite a new perspective for me. Prozac is an intelligent dog who has been around the block for the last thousand years or more. He's been reincarnated so many times it's hard to keep track, but he works hard to complete his missions, even if he doesn't know what those missions are exactly. Readers will certainly like Prozac's personality, they may even laugh a little at his antics. They'll also see how much good Meredith is getting from Prozac, though she doesn't know it herself.

 

The novel begins with the night Kyle is killed and then jumps forward a few years to Meredith's depression. When Prozac's owner hurts her foot, Meredith is inadvertently volunteered for the job of taking care of him. Though she doesn't like dogs and is much too busy, Meredith does end up taking care of Prozac, who guides her back to her life. The book as a whole is quite inspirational and an easy one to read. The only thing I didn't like was how a few of the characters treated each other, especially Judge Thea. Though, I suppose the story has to have a villain. The ending was also a little sad, but with more focus on the good than the bad. It definitely made me hug my dog a little tighter afterwards and made me want to share a picture of her with all of you.

 

 

 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups