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Summary:

How a Good Dog Tamed a Bad Woman

From the author of Bark If You Love Me, a woman-falls-in-love-with-dog story, set in the quirky Big Apple.

A woman meets an amber-eyed, sixty-pound boxer in a city park and falls in love. Their first year honeymoon was a discovery of each other’s idiosyncrasies-morning dog or evening dog? Television watcher or reader? Then life settles into routine and the once rebelliously high-spirited, independent woman and her bilingual comedian of a dog realize that they’re “happily stuck with each other.”

In this witty, sharp memoir, Louise Bernikow charts eight years with Libro the boxer as they travel through Manhattan...and that thing called Life. From book tours to beach houses, from Libro’s training as pet therapist after 9/11 to his escapades on the campaign trail, Louise plays “Jack” to Libro’s “Jackie.” But as Louise all too soon discovers, the stray she rescued is domesticating her. A book about a modern family of two, about joy and grief, and realizing that the life you’ve made (even if it doesn’t include a wedding ring) is more than enough, Dreaming in Libro will bring a wagging tail to any reader.

Louise Bernikow, consulting historian for Women’s eNews, is the author of seven books. A prolific magazine writer and often anthologized essayist, she frequently appears on television, radio, and the college lecture circuit. She lives in Manhattan.

Review:

I still remember how excited I was when I found Bark if you love me on Amazon. It was going to be my very first book about a boxer and its owner. I loved the memoir and thought this would be it, the story was told. That is until a couple of years later when I, again with lots of luck, stumbled upon another book about a boxer and yes, it turned out to be the second and last part to the story of how a woman fell in love with a boxer named Libro. Dreaming in Libro is the sequel to Bark if you love me and continues (sort of) where the first book left off. The book signings after the success of Bark if you love me form a big role in this sequel. Of course the ‘rescue’ story is now over but it remains a story full of love and understanding.

Dreaming in Libro is a book with lots of funny scenes, more than in the first book in my opinion, and a couple of sad parts, especially towards the ending but I was prepared for that. It shows in Louise Bernikow’s writing that she knows exactly what she’s talking about. The way she expresses for example the feelings towards her dog or even from her dog, it’s very hard for someone who has never had a dog, they wouldn’t be able to ‘grab’ it like this. In general this book was a light and entertaining read and I’ll probably read it again in the future.

My one flaw with Louise’s books is her vocabulary. And I call it MY flaw since it’s actually my own shortcoming and not one of the author. Just like her first book she shows just how experienced she is in the English language (she also clearly shows her knowledge of English literature) but for a foreigner some words can be a bit difficult to understand. But hey, nothing wrong with expanding your vocabulary right?

Libro really was an angel. You couldn’t wish for a better dog. And, with these two books, anyone will understand how easy it is to go from a non-dog-loving-person to a real dog-person, especially with a bond as close as the one between Louise and Libro.

Definitely one of the most beautiful books I’ve read about the relationship between a dog and its owner.

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