What do you think?
Rate this book
Hannah's Memory Box: The Story of a Therapy Dog
Hannah wasn’t like most dogs. She didn’t live for fetching balls or chasing birds. Her great affection was with helping the elderly in nursing homes, dying family friends, children in bite prevention clinics, even little kids in preschools. But when death and serious illness confronted Hannah’s own family, this beloved poodle showed the depth of her devotion. Part memoir, part dog chronicle, Hannah’s Memory Box will not only take you inside the heart of the author and her canine, it will help you deal with the loss of your forever pet.
204 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
8 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2015
This story had my wife bawling all the way through. She had a hard time reading it with me for lunch as she'd be forced to go back to work with red eyes. Certainly her co-workers thought I was beating her for lunch.
For anyone who likes dogs this book will resonate well. For females even more so.
I hardly know the author, having only met her once but I wish I had known the content of this book prior to that one meeting -- I would have loved to chat with her about Hannah a bit.
As for four stars instead of 5 -- well, that was for writing style, there was a tad bit to much repetition in the writing for my wife and I.
For anyone who likes dogs this book will resonate well. For females even more so.
I hardly know the author, having only met her once but I wish I had known the content of this book prior to that one meeting -- I would have loved to chat with her about Hannah a bit.
As for four stars instead of 5 -- well, that was for writing style, there was a tad bit to much repetition in the writing for my wife and I.
April 16, 2024
Awful and horrific prologue to a start of fuzzy feel-good book., What I signed up for: a cool book about a therapy dog. What did I get: a book where the author's parents allow her childhood dog to starve to death. I know attitudes towards dogs back then weren't great but HOLY shit, I wasn't expecting to hear about how in loving detail about how poor Blackie came to end, blinded in one eye by a bb and one foot mangled by a hunting trap. The author can use whatever excuse or trauma to reason away her parents' actions but both of were awful people that didn't care about what happened to that dog. I hope that they're having a fun time roasting in whatever place that animal abusers end up in.
Hannah, the poodle is bought from a backyard breeder who swindles the author out of her money and gives her away at before six weeks. If you want a dog then remember: shop responsibly at a shelter or breeder.
The author didn't fall from the tree with her own attitudes about boys. Lady, your young son isn't being a boy due to his testosterone but to your shitty parenting. Not allowing violent tv or eating sugar doesn't make your son a good boy but thoughtful and caring parenting does.
.
She'll also ramble on about her husband being resentful which I didn't want to hear about since I was here for the dog. But no, I had to read about her husband's issues and her okay marriage. Maybe, it's my belief in romance but I wouldn't stay if my partner resented me.
Further thoughts
Memoirs of anything are interesting. You can always edit them to make events favorable and put people in a good light. But most people prefer to air their dirty laundry in a book that anyone can read though. I suppose it's because we're human and rather learn about terrible people to reassure ourselves that we're not that bad. Or to put a thought in our head that we need to change our actions towards something. Anyways, It's rather strange that the author immortalize her parents as monsters in this book about a therapy dog. A glib statement by the author doesn't excuse their actions nor does it make them better people. There's never a scene where they apologized for how awful they were about Blackie but we're supposed to accept that they're good people at heart.
My argument is her parents are still awful people. One can argue that it's just a dog or it's an animal that has no value to them. There's a difference between not liking dogs and tolerating abuse in a dog. One is fine depending on the attitudes of the person in question. The other is that abuse is fine when it's done to things that you considered lower than you. The mother watched her child be distressed by ever fresh new horror visited on Blackie when something terrible happened to that dog. Did she changed her mind about the dog when her daughter begged to help her beloved dog? Try to help Blackie find a new home to care for her? No, her and her enabler of a husband continued to do the bare minimum to appease a twisted sense of guilt towards their child. I suppose it's decent if you can call it that to try somewhat. I rather call them monsters instead since they never cared about their child's emotional wellbeing. Even monsters are sweet at times and you can love them for he good times that you had together. The rest of us will be rightful horrified when you talk about what they've done.
Hannah, the poodle is bought from a backyard breeder who swindles the author out of her money and gives her away at before six weeks. If you want a dog then remember: shop responsibly at a shelter or breeder.
The author didn't fall from the tree with her own attitudes about boys. Lady, your young son isn't being a boy due to his testosterone but to your shitty parenting. Not allowing violent tv or eating sugar doesn't make your son a good boy but thoughtful and caring parenting does.
.
She'll also ramble on about her husband being resentful which I didn't want to hear about since I was here for the dog. But no, I had to read about her husband's issues and her okay marriage. Maybe, it's my belief in romance but I wouldn't stay if my partner resented me.
Further thoughts
Memoirs of anything are interesting. You can always edit them to make events favorable and put people in a good light. But most people prefer to air their dirty laundry in a book that anyone can read though. I suppose it's because we're human and rather learn about terrible people to reassure ourselves that we're not that bad. Or to put a thought in our head that we need to change our actions towards something. Anyways, It's rather strange that the author immortalize her parents as monsters in this book about a therapy dog. A glib statement by the author doesn't excuse their actions nor does it make them better people. There's never a scene where they apologized for how awful they were about Blackie but we're supposed to accept that they're good people at heart.
My argument is her parents are still awful people. One can argue that it's just a dog or it's an animal that has no value to them. There's a difference between not liking dogs and tolerating abuse in a dog. One is fine depending on the attitudes of the person in question. The other is that abuse is fine when it's done to things that you considered lower than you. The mother watched her child be distressed by ever fresh new horror visited on Blackie when something terrible happened to that dog. Did she changed her mind about the dog when her daughter begged to help her beloved dog? Try to help Blackie find a new home to care for her? No, her and her enabler of a husband continued to do the bare minimum to appease a twisted sense of guilt towards their child. I suppose it's decent if you can call it that to try somewhat. I rather call them monsters instead since they never cared about their child's emotional wellbeing. Even monsters are sweet at times and you can love them for he good times that you had together. The rest of us will be rightful horrified when you talk about what they've done.
December 22, 2024
Honestly, I read half this book and stopped because I knew from the beginning that Hannah, the narrator's beloved poodle would die. Like magical thinking, if I never finished the book, Hannah would still be alive, right? Well, not really. I did cry the tears I knew I would cry when I read this book, but not nearly as many as the narrator. The writing in this book speaks with the voice of someone who knows how to tell a story. And, the story of Hannah is one worth reading!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews