Lost & Found by Sheehan, Jacqueline [Paperback]

by Jacqueline Sheehan

Lost & FoundSheehan, Jacqueline

Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jacqueline Sheehan, Ph.D., is a fiction writer and essayist. She is also a practicing psychologist. She is a New Englander through and through, but spent twenty years living in the western states of Oregon, California, and New Mexico doing a variety of things, including house painting, freelance photography, newspaper writing, clerking in a health food store, and directing a traveling troupe of high school puppeteers.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up…

As a donation to my Little Free Library Shed, this became a wonderful re-visit to a book I read long ago.

How can we not be touched by books that are centered around dogs? Or a pet of some sort? In this case, a black labrador retriever named Lloyd-Cooper. Although on the cover of this book, he looks chocolate brown. Still, look at that cover, isn’t that face kissable?

Also, stories like this can certainly capture our attention. Especially when the main protagonist, Rocky, in this instance, are left in a place of such unsurmountable loss. And, just need to walk away from everything, not sure they can ever recover. And, of course, we know that when humans are in this difficult position, we sense intuitively, all they really need is the love of a good dog (pet) to bring them back to life. Or at least that is what we as readers can hope.

This truly is a story about healing. On so many levels. When Rocky escapes to Peak’s Island, to become an Animal Control Warden, we know this is going to be a new beginning for her after the loss of her husband. Her first rescues are an abandoned tabby cat, and Lloyd (whose real name is Cooper) who has been injured by an arrow. They all apparently need healing, too – and, not just the physical kind.

It is also a story with a mystery. Because the owner of Lloyd-Cooper was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Killed by whom and why?

So, now that Rocky has Lloyd-Cooper, is she willing to solve the mystery of his owner’s death in order to keep him and save herself, too?

The story is told from differing points of view, including the dog’s. Which may or may not work for some. But it also can help the story flow and, provide a dog’s perspective to their world view.

The characters feel real, writing insightful, plot well-paced and the story heart-warming. Remember that book cover? That should at least make you somewhat interested, right? 🐾

[Connie Senior · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grief is singular and exhausting and excruciating and difficult to put on the page. Jaqueline Sheehan gives an extraordinary picture of grieving in Lost & Found in which her main character, Rocky, must rebuild her life and her self after the sudden loss of her husband. One person’s grieving is not like any other’s. The book gives a quirky, individual portrait of grief, which is by turns surprising and difficult to read. But I don’t want to make the book seem too somber. Sheehan creates a varied cast of characters (human and canine) that add humor and poignancy Rocky’s quest (whether she knows it or not) to rescue an injured dog and a wounded teenager; in doing so, she rescues herself. I enjoyed the book tremendously.

[Gloria Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book about a woman who lost her husband to a heart attack at the age of 42. She is so undone by this that she takes a leave of absence from her job and goes to a small island off Maine for a year. She doesn't tell people her real story, just takes a temporary job as a dog warden and rents a house on the island. She meets a few people and starts a new life.

She ends up taking in a dog that had been wounded and finds herself very attached to this dog. There is some conflict in this story having to do with the former owner of this dog and her boyfriend. It gets a bit complicated, but in the end everything is solved and she is able to keep the dog.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Takes place on an island off the coast of Maine. A woman takes a temporary job as an animal control officer. There are some facts why she ends up there but I won’t go into that. She finds an abused black lab and nurses it back to health then gets involved with other affairs concerning the dog. Well told story, with surprises, and good characters.

[Debbie Shoulders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book with a dog on the cover has potential. Rocky is suddenly widowed and tries to find her way on a small island off of Portland, Maine. Working as an animal warden, she uses her skills as a therapist to figure things out. One day, Rocky finds an injured dog, which leads her back to the path of living.

[Linda Dickinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly enjoyable story about love and loss- and the power that dogs have to enrich our lives and heal our souls. Filled with twists and surprises. I longed for greater character development, but am still glad to have read this book.

[Kristina Dayback · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book and in some moments, I did. The bond between rocky and cooper-Lloyd was heart warming and made me tear up in moments. The book itself was “good” but not something I couldn’t put down.

[LORI BOTKIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down!

[Mike Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

ya, pretty good. not my usual type but Mother-in-Law had it. Feel good doggy story.