Five-Dog Epiphany: How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy

by Marianne Leone

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

IN FIVE-DOG EPIPHANY, MARIANNE LEONE writes about the joy that can be summoned after a great loss, "when you look into the eyes of another damaged creature and know that your happiness is a mirror and an echo and a prayer, and that the little soul reflecting all that energy is happy too, at last." This memoir is a moving and sometimes surprisingly funny exploration of grief and the mutual healing that can occur between rescue dogs and people who have experienced a soul-crushing loss. Leone and her husband, actor Chris Cooper, lost their only child suddenly in 2005. Jesse was seventeen, a straight-A student, and a brilliant poet, who was also quadriplegic and nonverbal except with the assistance of a computer.

When six-year-old Jesse miraculously blurted "dog" to Santa, Goody appeared on his bed on Christmas morning. Goody was followed by Lucky, Frenchy, Titi, and Sugar, all rescues adopted after Jesse’s passing. After Jesse’s death, Leone grew a tumor the size of her premature son at birth, her husband disappeared into dark acting roles (Breach, Married Life), and Leone fainted during the filming of a scene in The Sopranos where she is standing in front of her television son’s coffin.

This is the story of a bereaved couple and a pack of rescue dogs finding their way to a new life, everyone licking their wounds, both corporal and spiritual, and the rediscovery of joy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Grief

232 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

About the author

Marianne Leone is an actress, screenwriter and essayist. She had a recurring role on HBO's "Sopranos" as Joanne Moltisanti, Christopher's (Michael Imperioli's) mother. She has also appeared in films by John Sayles, Nancy Savoca and Martin Scorsese. Her essays and op ed pieces on a variety of topics have appeared in the Boston Globe. She is married to Chris Cooper, an academy-award winning actor and was Jesse Cooper's mother for seventeen years. After his death in 2005, her essay on grief was published in the Boston Globe ("He Was Our Touchstone".) Her memoir grew out of that essay.

A Foundation has been set up in Jesse's name, which supports inclusion and adapted sports for disabled people through the Federation for Children with Special Needs and AccesSportAmerica. The foundation also supports disabled orphans in Rumania through the Rumanian Children's Relief Fund.

Marianne lives on a tidal river in the South Shore of Massachusetts with her husband and two rescue dogs, Lucky and Frenchy.

Reviews

[Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marianne talks about the rescue dogs, but underlying this memoir is the pain of losing her son Jesse when he died suddenly at 17. Jesse had severe physical challenges due to problems stemming from his premature birth. The first bichon was Jesse's dog, Goody, and later they rescued a bonded pair of abused puppy mill breeders, Frenchy and Lucky. The last rescued pair, Titi and Sugar, were from Louisiana with issues of their own. The patience and kindness Marianne (who is an excellent writer) and her husband Chris showed to these animals helped them with their own pain, but as she says, "Time heals all wounds is a bulls**t platitude." And, as Marianne concludes this memoir, she reminds us that "in [Jesse's] memory the little rescues teach us the life lessons he taught every day. Love. Unconditional love, Always and forever." Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for allowing me to review this advance copy.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing this book was a way for the author to get her feelings out and deal with her grief over the loss of her son, Jesse, a child who brought love and joy to her and her husband. Marianne Leone had to fight for years for the right to education for her son who had cerebral palsy. Unable to speak and frequent episodes of pain did not prevent him from being a star student.

He was able to get out the word dog, as what he wanted for Christmas and the author was impressed by Bichon Frise that she saw and purchased one for him. That was before she knew anything about puppy mills. Jesse loved that dog so much. After Jessie died, the author and dog stayed together a lot. Finally when the dog was seventeen, the dog didn't want to eat and had not energy, arthritis was beating him up. When the dog, her only connection to Jessie, she was thrown into the depths of grief over again and deeper.

Finally, she adopted two more dogs, victims of puppy mills, Titi and Sugar. Titi had been a puppy maker and treated badly. Little by little the two dogs began to experience joy. It was a struggle but the author and her husband were deteremined to show the them the joy of life. This began a cycle, when they died, they adopted another pair.

I enjoyed the insights from the author and wish that I could adopt dogs in need a of loving family.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 as an eARC in exchange for an honest review

[Dayanara Ryelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

[I don't really intend to include spoilers, I just felt like hiding my review.]

They say, "Don't meet your heroes."

That should be amended to add, "Don't read books by your favorite actor's wife, because you never know when there will be a chapter that makes you say, 'Why did you feel it was necessary to share that with us?!'"

Yikes! 🤦🏼‍♀️

(I read the chapter title, but I didn't think it would go like that!)

I am very tempted to rate That Chapter -5 ⭐, but I think the only thing that would make me do that would've been if she'd admitted she'd turned to Trump after being banned from Twitter. (Couldn't find her on BlueSky or Tribel, not that I want to anymore!)

[Not that the two would be related, just that I meant that not being able to lurk in her tweets meant that I didn't know what she had to say anymore.]

Either way, I truly feel sorry for the rest of her family, especially her introverted husband! (I kind of sensed before that interviewers describing him as "laconic" wasn't just about being quiet, but the whole thing with him disappearing during the pre-adoption home visit in the early chapters confirmed my feelings.) I can't imagine if one of my aunts wrote such private information about one of my deceased cousins in a book. I'd be positively horrified!

Y'know, I never said anything to her while she was still on Twitter in case it was misconstrued as "stupid fangirl stuff" and got back to him in a way that made me look like some cutesy little airhead not to be taken seriously, but with That Chapter, I needn't worry about it anymore. She clearly let stupid out of the bag and let it run free on her own!

=The rest of the book=
Readability: other than That Chapter, the stories flow smoothly and are broken up into easily digestible chunks. Even the longest one (thus far) seemed to go quickly. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mechanics (grammar, syntax, word choice, punctuation, spelling): all fine. I've seen books come out of bigger publishers come out with a lot worse. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, thus far (averaged): ⭐.67, rounded up to ⭐⭐.

I want to keep reading this, but I don't know if I can with That Chapter hanging over my head. (Go away! I want to read in peace!)

=15 September=
Ultimately, something like a third of this book was about the author's attempt to show her dogs a new and happier life after their unpleasant pasts and the other ⅔ appeared to be streams-of-consciousness about grief and the recovery from it (if there is a such thing) that probably shouldn't have left her journal/diary.

Having read all three of her books now, I can say that Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss is still the best, and will quite possibly remain so for many years to come.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and actor Marianne Leone shares her poignant tale of loss and recovery. Her son Jesse was born prematurely and suffered a brain bleed on his third day of life. This left him a quadriplegic and nonverbal, but it was only his body that was damaged. His spirit still soared though his body couldn’t. He was also a straight-A student and wrote poetry with the assistance of a computer. His life was tragically cut short at the age of 17 when the seizures that plagued his life finally ended it. In this memoir, Marianne shares snippets of Jesse’s amazing life. When he was 6, he managed to tell Santa “dog” when asked what he wanted for Christmas. And so Goody, a bichon frise, came into their lives. Goody is Jesse’s companion, and the star of the household. But after Jesse’s passing, it is discovered that Goody has heart problems, or maybe he is just giving up. Still grieving Jesse, Marianne is diagnosed with cancer, and then loses Goody. Sorrow causes physical pain, but even in her grief she reaches out to adopt another dog. A pair of bichon frises captures her eye and then her heart. These are rescue dogs, cruelly abused and needing an understanding and patient owner. After many years in their new home, these dogs eventually succumb to old age, and two more hard-to-place rescue dogs take their place. Marianne writes with candid prose about heartfelt grief as only a sorrowing mother can. And then she tells about how she came to survive that grief while never forgetting the wonderful son she and her husband lost. Well written and touching, this memoir is sad of course, but it is also uplifting and at times, even humorous. It will leave you with the feeling of joy. Jesse’s last poem contains the line “My best dream is to fly.” This memoir will make your heart soar.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A dogless household is bleak.” ‼️‼️

This book is a sweet and tender look into the stages of human grief and the healing love of an animal. Although I have a monster in comparison the the Bichon’s featured in this memoir, the size of the dog matters not when it comes to their ability to fill your heart with unconditional love.

I will say there is one chapter that could have been left out and kind of gave me the ick…and if you’ve read this I’m sure you know exactly which one I am referring to.

Many chapters begin with pictures of the author’s beloved late son Jesse and the dogs that brought her and her husband back to life. Such a nice touch! Speaking of chapters, they’re short and concise making this a quick read.

“I look over at Lucky. Even if our bold little rescue doesn’t care that I have saved his life, I am grateful to him for returning laughter to ours.”

Thank you to Akashic Books and the author for the gifted book.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely. This wasn’t on my planned reads / TBRs for 2025 or any other year. I hadn’t heard of it until browsing Inkfish Books in Warren… But it seemed to be a serendipitous find & quite good timing for me, so I took a chance, skipped any confirmation through reviews. How lovely it is - reviews will tell you it’s largely about grief and joy, both — and yes, it is. But there’s also quite a bit about disability rights, advocacy, and resilience. The interweaving of stories is adeptly done. Despite being about grief, it’s well edited, so that before you get too consumed and woeful, you’re laughing at a well told story about a pup, filling your inner cup with hope before diving back in to the reality of living with loss.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marianne Leone and her husband had seventeen years with their quadriplegic, non-verbal son. Jesse was encased in his body yet was able to communicate with the aid of a computer, even writing poetry and earning straight A’s in school. An epileptic seizure in his sleep killed him leaving his parents deep in mourning. One of the few words Jesse was ever able to produce was dog so his parents got him a dog. After his death, dogs became a healing presence in their lives.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished an early copy of Five-Dog Epiphany and am filled with wonderglow.

The right words will come to me when I can once again breathe properly, but for now, I can only say Leone captured the furnace of grief, the tundra of devastating loss, the world of brokenheartedness, and the miracles of small sightings of hope. This book, like all Leone's others, is phenomenal.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dogs were certainly stars of this book. Ms. Leone brings the reader into her world in short “vignette” style chapters, each centered around the grief of losing her son Jesse and her rescue dogs. I could always picture exactly what she was talking about.

[Mauri Baumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don’t know the author. I have seen Chris Cooper in some films. I picked this book up in because of the rescue dogs. And it was worth reading it for that portion.

[Deborah Dibble · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of never-ending grief and the 5 dogs who helped them survive. So sorry for your loss.

[Heather Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, the grief she endured after losing her son and the death of his beloved dog; she rescues dogs that are like her son’s dog. This memoir is so moving. Taking care of the dogs brings up memories of her son and I can feel the sorrow in her words. Amazing writing loved the writing style.
And I wholeheartedly agree with the chapter “Hate Carousel”