Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan is a memoir with some stories about dogs scattered throughout. If you love dogs and hate seeing them neglected and not truly cared about, stay away. If you like memoirs that flow and move you both emotionally and along a life's arc, stay away. This is very uneven and frankly the only emotion it generates is a feeling of pity for all the poor dogs that could have had good lives if not attached to a dysfunctional family and a person who is so narcissistic.

Probably what is most frustrating is that this should have been a memoir I would have loved based on the description. After so many years in Women and Gender Studies and being part of several events with speakers like Kate Bornstein, I expected to enjoy the actual memoir part. As a lifelong animal, and particularly dog, lover I expected to really like the framing device of using her pet dogs. But this book fails to deliver on either count. If I were the type of person she is and was, I would keep my life story to myself and just concentrate on the aspects that can assist others with transitioning. But to put your disregard for dogs, other than what they can give you even when you offer them nothing, and your inflated sense of self on display is pointless, but in the age of Trump narcissism is apparently in.

Well, enough. Not recommended, only bumped up to two stars because I felt sorry for all the dogs.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I think the concept of the memoir was a good one and there were certainly some good stories regarding the author's life, along with how the dogs in her life played a part. However, this felt more like a collection of anecdotes than a true narrative memoir. As a result, things feel choppy, something that was increased by the tendency of the chapters to move back and forth through time in quick succession. This organization made the book often jerky, confusing, and disorienting, easily causing reader fatigue. I alleviated some of this issue by reading a portion of the book via audio. This approach also helped remove some of my problems with the sentence structure.

I did not realize prior to starting the book that this was actually the latest in a series of memoirs written by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Because I had not read the other books prior and this was my introduction to Ms. Boylan, the result was a read that had interesting moments and good emotional stories, but that still felt a little like scratching the surface or gathering up the leftovers.

I did still enjoy parts of the stories and could certainly identify with the ways that dogs can help to teach us about life and the things that are important. I just was disappointed that this didn't feel like more of an emotional investment. It felt like I was being held a bit more at arm's length and that I wasn't, unfortunately, really able to connect fully with the heart of the story.

While really more about Jenny’s life than her dogs, I always enjoy her writing. And the dogs are wonderful characters in their own right.

While my life story is not the same as Jennifer Boylan's, I too can see my life rolling forward through the dogs...and cats...that have shared their lives and love with me. A very emotionally told story of growing up, not just older, and the beloved pets that shared her life. An absolutely beautiful read.

Jennifer Boylan has told her story several times in several ways. All of those ways work, including this one, which tells her life story (so far!) via a series of stretches of time marked by the dog or dogs that were in her life at the time. Although each section of the book centers on a dog or dogs, it's the relationships the humans form or lack forming around that center that is the real story. This is as much a story of multiple family narratives as it is a story of multiple dogs.

What an interesting concept to trace the events of your life through the dogs you have owned. The author and I have lived vastly different lives, but as dog lovers we can both tie our experiences back to dogs we have owned. I did not like how much I felt like the narration jumped from story to story in a vastly nonlinear fashion. It was kind of all over the place. Also I don’t love how they treated their dogs all the time. Very different from my approach to dog ownership. But I was invested in the story and it was a quick read, so I didn’t want to DNF it.

"This is a book about seven phases of my life and the dogs I loved at each moment."

Jennifer Boylan's Good Boy is a memoir that ties together the different stages of her life. Throughout each one, she tells the story of the dogs she loved and the impact they had on her. I admit I had not heard of Jennifer Boylan before receiving this book from Celadon Books, she is a prominent transgender woman and advocate.

Jennifer Boylan is a fantastic writer however her memoir did jump around a bit. I enjoyed the second half of the book more where we saw some insight into her family life and the dynamic with her wife and two kids. As a dog lover myself, I understand the importance of dogs throughout someone's life and I love the unique idea behind this memoir.

There were so many great quotes throughout this book, one of my favorites was, "But if you ask me, the magic of dogs is not that their love for us is unconditional. What's unconditional is the love that we have for them."

I absolutely LOVE Jennifer Finney Boylan's memoirs - she has one of the most honest and compelling voices as a writer, and there are always so many remarkable observations and self-realizations contained within... She has a fascinating ability to pull you directly into her life and make you feel right along with her throughout the journey - be the feelings happy, sad, conflicted or otherwise. It makes for quick reads that always teach me something about myself as much as they do about her.

I am not a dog person. Until recently I never thought I was a cat person either, but when our daughter begged for a pet and the opportunity arose, we took it and I've never looked back. Still, I wasn't sure if a book focusing on dogs was going to be my jam - although I love her writing so much that I requested it anyway. Boylan's tales about the role her pets played in her life, from her childhood as a boy struggling with her truth to an adult coming to terms with her changing life as she ages, moved me and made me laugh out loud, sometimes with tears trickling down my cheeks.

I'd read her grocery list at this point, and come away from it having learned something not only about what she eats but about myself as well... Thank goodness I found her, and here's hoping she keeps writing for years to come!

I loved this book, people thought it was a book about 7 dogs, it was but not all. It was a about a boy that later became there true self. What she went thru to get where she is now. But also telling the story of the dog from each stage in her life. Definitely recommend it.

I really hope what I read was a rough draft because this book needs to go through a few more rounds of editing.

I think the idea of formatting a memoir based on the lives of dogs was an interesting one - unfortunately, in this case, it was poorly executed.

First of all, this book was all over the place. It was choppy, with each paragraph spouting new ideas and stories that were unrelated to previous paragraphs or the chapter as a whole, making the book feel disjointed and difficult to follow. The only organized part of the book was the way the chapters were laid out - in the order of dogs that the author has lived with over the course of her life.

Furthermore, I felt like the author, Jennifer Finney Boylan, really tried (but struggled and failed) to connect the stories about her dogs with her transition from boyhood to womanhood (from here on out referred to as the "transition"). Each chapter is formatted more or less as follows: introduce the dog, share a story about the dog and how the dog entered the family's life, Boylan mentions something related to her transition, Boylan provides insightful comment about her present life or mentions something that happened years after the dog first came into her life, another random story about the dog and/or Boylan's past. Each section felt disjointed from the other, making it difficult to read and follow the sequence of events.

That doesn't mean this was a terrible book though... There were some interesting stories and moments of great insight that should have been expanded a bit more. Boylan also did an excellent job describing the personalities of her dogs and really bringing them to life in her book. I just think the book was poorly organized, making it difficult to enjoy.

There are a lot of books out there about people's love for their dogs. Marley and Me is probably the best example of this genre, in that this wild Lab becomes an important part of one couple's -- and then one family's -- life. But Jennifer Finney Boylan's Good Boy turns the genre on its head a bit, arguing that dogs don't love us unconditionally, but we love them unconditionally. And it is that love for them that helps us understand the people we have been. In Boylan's case, we get to meet seven dogs that have guided her from her transition out of boyhood into middle-aged womanhood. By reconnecting with her dogs in these well-written pages, Boylan rediscovers parts of her past self that have faded from view. I always appreciate a good memoir, and think this story about transition is an important read. Although I have loved my share of dogs, I think the story could have stood on its own without the dog framework. Having said that, who can resist a tale about the dogs that helped you become the human you were meant to become? Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Celadon, Netgalley, and Jennifer Finney Boylan for my free copy of Good Boy. Before I go any further, I want to report that though there are a few sad moments, I wouldn’t consider this a sad dog book (and this is coming from the woman who stops Marley and Me at least 20 minutes early). It’s a thought-provoking, enthralling memoir.

Good Boy chronicles Boylan’s life from boyhood, through transition, and into womanhood via the love of seven different dogs she had throughout her life. Throughout the book, we see the roles that each of Boylan’s dogs has played in the different stages of her lives, through how they came to meet, to training, and then life with the dog as Boylan’s life continued.

I loved this book. It was by no means a fast read, but Boylan is a fantastic storyteller. She makes it easy to visualize the different times in her life, along with the interactions between the people in her lives, along with the dogs and how their personalities are so different. It gave me a new view on love and appreciation, especially as it relates to the pets in my life.

Boylan’s writing makes you think about what lessons your pets may be teaching you. I’ve had Bruce for 6 years. He’s been with me through several job transitions, two major moves (about to be three), pregnancy, and all of parenthood thus far. He’s taught me the power of unconditional love. It doesn’t matter the day I had, the mood I’m in, or how tired I am, Bruce will be there. He’s always ready to snuggle or just sit at my feet, whatever I need in the moment.

Noodles, however, is a different pup with a different personality. I’m not sure what he’s going to teach me yet. He’s a doofus, but is the most loving and humble dog. He’s just so happy, no matter what. We sure do love him.

Grab Good Boy on April 21st! Celadon has been posting regular updates with beautiful photos of the dogs, if you want to put a name with a face. If you have a pet, what has your pet taught you?

I liked this book, but didn't love it. The dogs were awesome, but the humans, not so much. It was hard for me to keep track of who was who for a while, but once I got it figured out it got a lot easier. Three stars!

If you love dogs as I do, you will want to read Good Boy, My Life In Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boyan. This is such a lovely warm book and just reinforces how I feel about our canine friends!

Take a look:

This is a book about dogs: the love we have for them, and the way that love helps us understand the people we have been.

It’s in the love of dogs, and my love for them, that I can best now take the measure of the child I once was, and the bottomless, unfathomable desires that once haunted me.

There are times when it is hard for me to fully remember that love, which was once so fragile, and so fierce. Sometimes it seems to fade before me, like breath on a mirror.

But I remember the dogs.

In her New York Times opinion column, Jennifer Finney Boylan wrote about her relationship with her beloved dog Indigo, and her wise, funny, heartbreaking piece went viral. In Good Boy, Boylan explores what should be the simplest topic in the world, but never is: finding and giving love.

Good Boy is a universal account of a remarkable story: showing how a young boy became a middle-aged woman—accompanied at seven crucial moments of growth and transformation by seven memorable dogs. “Everything I know about love,” she writes, “I learned from dogs.” Their love enables us to pull off what seems like impossible feats: to find our way home when we are lost, to live our lives with humor and courage, and above all, to best become our true selves.

This book tells the story of Jenny’s transformative life choices and the dogs who were there by her side along the way. Such a great story! I loved it.

Good Boy will be out on April 21! Order here.

I was not able to finish this book. I found this book difficult to connect with and stay engaged. I could not stay interested in the stream of conscious type story structure. I was disappointed, as I enjoyed reading a previous book from this author.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it was fascinating.This book tells the life of a man who tells his story which he documents each stage by 7 dog in his life. This book tells of the author's life as a transgender and how many roles he played throughout his life starting as a young boy and how he became a woman. This book is fascinating and it is so well written, I found myself captured from the beginning up until the last page. This book also explained the meaning of dogs and our relationships with them, suggesting that we love dogs unconditionally, which I totally believe to be true.
I don't want to say much else so every person can enjoy the book, it is really worth reading and I gave it 5 unconditional Stars!

In this book, Finney Boylan discusses in a larger sense, her life as it has changed from being a kid into an older adult and how her love of dogs has grown over the years.  She details her first family and individual dogs while being a kid and how those went on to shape not only her as a person but also the love of dogs she continues to harbor in her life.  Finney Boylan raises the important connection between happiness, fulfillment, and having unconditional love regardless of what you look like or what internal struggle you may be going through.  In Finney Boylan's text, dogs are always there for you to love you and give you support.  

The stories she tells in this book are so touching and realistic.  We've all known those dogs or been those dog owners who are either our of control or just don't understand what is going on.  There is a very human element in dogs as well as an element that helps reify our humanity.  She says in this book that there are dog people and there are cat people, and I can't agree more.  But there are also people who love both.  As I write this, I have a kitten perched on my shoulder.  Don't mind the fact that she climbed my back with her razor claws, as if I were a rock wall.  Along with her, I love dogs just as much; they are just very different animals.  I feel like what is at the root of Finney Boylan's book is that love is universal.  We all want someone or something to love and everyone and everything out there deserves love regardless of your identity, what species you are, or what you may be going though.

This idea is one that isn't directly presented in the book.  You could literally take this book at face value and read a memoir of Finney Boylan's life in conjunction with the dogs she has owned or had in her family.  You could also read this a bit deeper, as an expose on love and appreciation.  I think she makes some pretty strong statements in this book about love and belonging and how dogs (especially) can show us those two hard-to-grasp concepts, quite easily.  While cats sometimes do this, dogs pretty much represent love and affection; they are the embodiment of these sentiments.  I love that Finney Boylan chose dogs for this memoir and found a way to honor those she and he has loved thorough their life and the lessons they were taught through being a pet owner and lover.

I had hoped this book to be something different. I had a hard time staying focused and also at times this book felt like it was all over the place with its timelines. This was not a book for me.
Thanks to netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book.

I really wanted to like this because the concept of approaching one's life seasons through pet ownership is intriguing, but I'm leaving it unfinished. The writing was too scattered and unfocused for me.

I realized I couldn't read this book because animals dying it too painful to me. The writing itself is compelling, and I appreciate how the author is writing about all aspects of her life, using the animals she loved as a framework.