What Secret Asian Girl is Reading Now

The book industry seems to be capitalizing on the reading public's softer side lately: its need to eat, pray and love and its need to cuddle with a soft, loyal friend who won't give us pink slips or lose its value and leave us with nothing. Except for a almost a year following the loss of a 13 year old dear and loyal friend, I have always owned a dog. That's why I'm drawn to the plethora of books being published about humankind's best friend. I can't get through the Marley and Me's, for obvious reasons, but I search for the stories that connect my deep feelings for dogs that only fellow dog lovers can understand. A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron is, finally, the book I've been looking for. There's no exhaustive sadness when the dog dies, because this dog dies many times. Let me explain. The dog in this book is born a mutt, living in a culvert with his mom and siblings, living off what little life has to offer him with no human assistance. It is a short and expendable life, but not one without meaning. This existence provides him with the relative experience he needs to learn to be grateful for his next life, as a family dog, Bailey. Bailey's happy time with his boy, Ethan, is the kind of life all dogs dream of: a full belly, a warm home, and a boy who loves him more than anything. Together, they grow older, fight evil, and learn to lean on someone who will always be there for you...as long as they can. Like all dogs, Bailey's life is all too short and he is unable to see Ethan through the remainder of his human life. Bailey begins to wonder what is the purpose of a dog's life, if not to be with his boy forever? Miraculously, Bailey is reborn as a German Shepherd puppy, whose destiny is to be trained as a police dog. Now a female named Ellie, but retaining all the memories and experiences (and feelings) of his/her previous lives, this time around teaches Ellie many things. Ellie learns to Find, a fun game that seems to make humans happy. Find is easy for Ellie, having had to Find Ethan or Find food as a stray. Being a police dog is another wonderful life for Ellie, and her end is not a sad one but one of satisfaction. Surely this must be a dog's purpose? But as Ellie is reborn yet again, this time as a pure-blood black lab and again as a male, he is depressed and ambivalent about going through yet another purposeless life. Worse, he belongs to a human who doesn't want him and ends up, like so many unwanted animals owned by stupid humans, dumped "in the country" to fend for himself. By sheer luck, our friend finds himself in a place familiar to him, where he used to play with a boy named Ethan. Could he use his new skills of Find to find Ethan? I won't ruin the ending for you but Buddy (Bailey/Ellie's new name) finds his purpose in life. Find is a wonderful purpose, but Save is even better.  Buy a box of tissues, snuggle with your fur friend and read this book now. This one is for Lily, Popi, Duffy, Riley and of course...Sam.