4 out of 4 stars.
Impossible not to fall in love with Gizelle.
Taking care of a dog is difficult when you are just hitting your 20s. During this time period most teenagers are entering college and cannot wait to have zero responsibilities and just have fun doing their own carefree thing. The word selfish comes to mind. In the case of this author, Lauren Fern Watt, she is the exact opposite. She grew up with a big obligation and that was trying to take care of her addict mother. It was something she could not run away from and drop out of her mind. The only answer was to find something joyful to fill her normally stressed brain with to try and keep a balance. In comes Gizelle a 160 pound English Mastiff. A constant companion that Lauren was able to let her guard down for because this dog has never disappointed her. Shortly after graduation they moved to New York City together and began their coming of age journey. It was filled with new roommates, living quarters, jobs, and boyfriends. The one remaining constant was Gizelle until she got sick.
The second portion of Gizelle and Lauren’s life was creating fun and meaningful things they could do together in their last moments as a team. A very real and honest portrayal of how a dog is not just a dog but more of a professor of how life should be handled.
Of course I gave this book 4 stars because this story sounded very familiar to my own life. I got Sadie when I was 26 years old and feeling like I needed something meaningful. Although life looked great on the outside to most, I knew my mom was sick and I needed to find some happiness in an otherwise difficult day to day path I was on. I can one hundred percent relate to Lauren of how much a dog changed her perspective on what matters and that is trying to make this short life a little bit more playful.
I would imagine if you do not like dogs that you could view this book as not a keeper because it does heavily rely on that content. If that is the case – this is not the pick for you.
Also, shout out to Simon & Schuster for lending me a copy of this book to review. I can see why you would think we would be a good fit!!
