When her family dog dies, Chloe Shaw is left reeling, and she begins to reflect on the canines of her past. Since she was a child, Shaw had learned to escape the hardest parts of being human by immersing herself in the lives of her canine companions, an adaptive attachment that did not prepare her for the challenges of adulthood. With artful prose and a philosophical touch, Shaw relates how dogs teach us to love, but also pull us boldly toward the person we were always meant to be.

"This poignant and gracefully written memoir amply embraces the complexities of the human-dog relationship in a uniquely personal way, and it's also a moving story of self-acceptance."—Kirkus Reviews