A new installment in best-selling author Ann Hood’s Gracie Belle imprint, actress Marianne Leone’s (The Sopranos, etc.) memoir explores how a bereaved couple and a pack of rescue dogs rediscovered joy. I love dog and dog can be such an encouragement for human life.

Marianne Leone is a warrior for the suffering side of love. How does one who has lived in the darkest depths of suffering in motherhood live with grief ? Marianne and Chris are talented actors. It comes out in their work for sure. This book is about living with and sometimes conquering the demons of suffering in their everyday lives. Epiphanies are breakthroughs of deep understanding reached only by those willing to love mightily wherever the love carries you. Marianne and Chris are these rare people who found an unusual path through grief by loving greatly, no matter the cost to themselves.

I appreciate how Marianne found deep meaning in nature and animals. I would have liked more stories like Killdeer. That was my epiphany in her story. Wow! And Jesse's tree at the school. I loved the story of Kyle , Jesse's best friend of long ago. There is a young man who is such a gift from God. My teacher's heart, which can't be stilled by retirement after 35 years in public education ..... I so enjoyed your inclusion of Kyle's happily ever after story. He's giving back to the world, what Jesse awakened in him: a fascination for linguistics, leading to a doctorate. Wow!

There have been great injustices done in the education system towards children with special needs. There have also been great strides of accomplishments in the teaching trenches as well. Due in no small part to parents like Marianne and Chris. Helping to weed bad apples out like that SPED Director for one . That cost your heart alot, Marianne. But sharing the heartbreak and triumph in your book helps others to be aware of problems to be conquered.

How about this epiphany: all human beings are meant to be here on earth, for however long the Lord allows. Even a quadriplegic sufferer like Jesse. He gave back so much love and depth of meaning in life to his family and the students, teachers, neighbors, and readers of this book, like me. I love his poems which were shared here. His mother has given them wings in her book.

People like Jesse teach us how to slow down and live in the moment. Jesse teaches us to find joy in small things. It's ok that his mother shared stories like his impish side which really revealed his intelligence to me. When he got all the answers wrong on purpose, on a test. This teacher laughed with eyes watering.... He was just reminding everyone to not take it all so seriously. See, I can get them all right, too. God love him. Wow.

I'm a retired teacher and a mother in an empty nest. I so appreciated the opportunity to read about Marianne's depths of sorrow which are also tempered with the stories of the heights of joy she achieved in her love for her son Jesse. After his death, this was followed by her trumphs with 5 broken-hearted, broken-spirited, canines. Like Jesse, these were dogs that many others would never have touched. You were chosen for these great loves, Marianne. Thank you for sharing your memoirs in your road less taken. Your stories have made such an impression on my heart.

Thanks Net Galley for this opportunity to read this incredible book.

I have put off writing this review, actually I was thinking of not writing it. This is only because I found Marianne Leone's book to be more about the depths that she sank to after the death of her son. The lovely dogs she adopted seemed almost to be an after thought in the writing. Although they may be the life raft she reaches to hold on to at times. Her pain is palpable. I am giving this book four stars because there is so much feeling in this book, because of a parent's love for their son. However, I would give it only two for a story about the pups. I thank NetGalley and Akashic Books for the advance read.

I liked it. Since I'm all about dogs, I would have loved more on the dogs but understand the book wasn't solely based on that.