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Mad Dash
The poor thing was cold and trembling, abandoned on their front doorstep. Dash, impulsive as always, decides on the spot that they should keep it. But her husband, Andrew, thinks it’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard. A fight over a scruffy little dog doesn’t seem like much of a reason to walk out on your husband of twenty years—but the spat over the puppy is just the last of many straws.
Dash is so tired of the faculty parties at Mason-Dixon College that Andrew insists they attend even though he won’t mingle with his colleagues, tired of his constant fretting over illnesses he doesn’t have, tired of the glass of warm milk he must have every night before bed. Why can’t he see that with her mother gone and their daughter off at college, Dash needs something more?
Now, living on her own for the first time in years, Dash can do whatever she wants . . . if only she could figure out what that is. But every time she starts making plans for the future, she finds herself thinking about the past—remembering the mother she’s lost, her daughter’s childhood, and the husband she isn’t entirely sure she wants to leave behind. . . .
By turns poignant and hilarious—often on the same page— Mad Dash is a novel about the funny ways love has of catching up to us despite our most irrational efforts to leave it behind.
Dash is so tired of the faculty parties at Mason-Dixon College that Andrew insists they attend even though he won’t mingle with his colleagues, tired of his constant fretting over illnesses he doesn’t have, tired of the glass of warm milk he must have every night before bed. Why can’t he see that with her mother gone and their daughter off at college, Dash needs something more?
Now, living on her own for the first time in years, Dash can do whatever she wants . . . if only she could figure out what that is. But every time she starts making plans for the future, she finds herself thinking about the past—remembering the mother she’s lost, her daughter’s childhood, and the husband she isn’t entirely sure she wants to leave behind. . . .
By turns poignant and hilarious—often on the same page— Mad Dash is a novel about the funny ways love has of catching up to us despite our most irrational efforts to leave it behind.
355 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
27 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Gaffney
40 books319 followersPatricia Gaffney was born in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, and also studied literature at Royal Holloway College of the University of London, at George Washington University, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After college, Gaffney taught 12th grade English for a year before becoming a freelance court reporter, a job she pursued in North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., for the next fifteen years.
Her first book, a historical romance, was published by Dorchester in 1989. Between then and 1997, she wrote 11 more romance novels (Dorchester; Penguin USA), for which she was nominated for or won many awards. Many of these previously out of print classics are available again today as digitally reissued classics, including the author's most recently re-released and much beloved novels in The Wyckerley Trilogy.
In 1999, she went in a new direction with her hardcover fiction debut, The Saving Graces (HarperCollins). A contemporary story about four women friends, the novel explored issues of love, friendship, trust, and commitment among women. The Saving Graces enjoyed bestseller status on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and other lists.
Circle of Three (2000), Flight Lessons (2002), and The Goodbye Summer (2004) followed, all national bestsellers. Gaffney’s most recent novel was Mad Dash (2007), a humorous but insightful look at a 20-year marriage, told from the viewpoints of both longsuffering spouses.
More recently, Pat's been indulging her purely creative side in a brand new format for her -- novellas. With friends including J. D. Robb, she has contributed stories to three anthologies, all New York Times bestsellers. In "The Dog Days of Laurie Summer" (The Lost, 2009), a woman in a troubled marriage "dies" and comes back as the family dog. "The Dancing Ghost" (The Other Side, 2010) brings together a pretty spinster and a shady ghost buster in 1895 New England. And in "Dear One" (The Unquiet, 2011), a fake phone psychic (or IS she?) meets her match in a stuffy Capitol Hill lobbyist -- who couldn't possibly be that sexy-voiced cowboy from Medicine Bend who keeps calling the psychic line.
Patricia Gaffney lives in southern Pennsylvania with her husband.
After college, Gaffney taught 12th grade English for a year before becoming a freelance court reporter, a job she pursued in North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., for the next fifteen years.
Her first book, a historical romance, was published by Dorchester in 1989. Between then and 1997, she wrote 11 more romance novels (Dorchester; Penguin USA), for which she was nominated for or won many awards. Many of these previously out of print classics are available again today as digitally reissued classics, including the author's most recently re-released and much beloved novels in The Wyckerley Trilogy.
In 1999, she went in a new direction with her hardcover fiction debut, The Saving Graces (HarperCollins). A contemporary story about four women friends, the novel explored issues of love, friendship, trust, and commitment among women. The Saving Graces enjoyed bestseller status on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and other lists.
Circle of Three (2000), Flight Lessons (2002), and The Goodbye Summer (2004) followed, all national bestsellers. Gaffney’s most recent novel was Mad Dash (2007), a humorous but insightful look at a 20-year marriage, told from the viewpoints of both longsuffering spouses.
More recently, Pat's been indulging her purely creative side in a brand new format for her -- novellas. With friends including J. D. Robb, she has contributed stories to three anthologies, all New York Times bestsellers. In "The Dog Days of Laurie Summer" (The Lost, 2009), a woman in a troubled marriage "dies" and comes back as the family dog. "The Dancing Ghost" (The Other Side, 2010) brings together a pretty spinster and a shady ghost buster in 1895 New England. And in "Dear One" (The Unquiet, 2011), a fake phone psychic (or IS she?) meets her match in a stuffy Capitol Hill lobbyist -- who couldn't possibly be that sexy-voiced cowboy from Medicine Bend who keeps calling the psychic line.
Patricia Gaffney lives in southern Pennsylvania with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
May 29, 2009
Woman's fiction. Maybe it's my current relationship status ... I don't know; but when I finished this book--I was angry, wanted to tear it up or burn it. Nobody gets to have everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, work out perfectly. Do they? What hogwash. I'll be interested to see what other readers have to say .... It is this: I feel like a complete failure after reading this book. I want a perfect relationship. I want perfect love. I want perfect friends. I want perfect children. I want a perfect vocation. I want a get-a-way cabin in the woods with perfect neighbors. I want a cute, perfect, little black boy living next door to me, who is really a sage in disguise. What the f--- have I done wrong? It is not that I am not aware of how things could be if they were perfect--I am. But, it never works out for me like it did in this novel. It must be me ... I am a failure as a human being.
September 5, 2019
The puppy is almost frozen, abandoned on their front doorstep. Dash wants to keep it, her husband doesn't—that is the argument that ends with Dash storming off with the puppy and separating from her husband Andrew.
Dash, a photographer who can work almost anywhere, decides to stay in her and Andrew's cabin while she figures out what to do. She thinks that if she just has time to herself she will be able to determine the best course of action. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way!
Andrew is bewildered that his wife has walked out on him because he doesn't want to keep a puppy when he's clearly allergic. He wants to stay married, he loves Dash...but now an attractive coworker is asking him out.
Dash is starting to have feelings towards the handyman she hires to repair things in the cabin. She becomes involved with the lives of several people who live nearby. How is she supposed to decide what to do if she is so caught up in things?
This book was funny, and did a nice job of switching back and forth between the voices of Dash and Andrew. You are torn between wanting them to get back together, and wanting it to work out with their new prospective loves. A good beach read.
Dash, a photographer who can work almost anywhere, decides to stay in her and Andrew's cabin while she figures out what to do. She thinks that if she just has time to herself she will be able to determine the best course of action. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way!
Andrew is bewildered that his wife has walked out on him because he doesn't want to keep a puppy when he's clearly allergic. He wants to stay married, he loves Dash...but now an attractive coworker is asking him out.
Dash is starting to have feelings towards the handyman she hires to repair things in the cabin. She becomes involved with the lives of several people who live nearby. How is she supposed to decide what to do if she is so caught up in things?
This book was funny, and did a nice job of switching back and forth between the voices of Dash and Andrew. You are torn between wanting them to get back together, and wanting it to work out with their new prospective loves. A good beach read.
December 11, 2008
I did not really care for the main character -Dash.
If I had the print book instead of the audio I probably would not
have finished.
A big problem with this story is that life generally does not
happen this way - there is not always a happy ending and people
don't always act as we would like.
If I had the print book instead of the audio I probably would not
have finished.
A big problem with this story is that life generally does not
happen this way - there is not always a happy ending and people
don't always act as we would like.
October 9, 2008
Stopped reading after about 100 pages, which is not like me. Just couldn't get into it. Didn't really care about what happened to this couple.
November 6, 2013
After reading some of the previous reviews, I almost took this book back to the library unopened. I'm glad I didn't. Dash, to me, was a sympathetic character, a woman in crisis who just doesn't know why. Andrew, despite his seeming passivity, has crushed her spirit over the years without really intending to. Does life always produce happy endings? No, but not all endings are tragic, either. Along the way, they both learn some lessons about caring and compassion.
September 29, 2014
Dorothy, who prefers to be called Dash rather than Dot, is in denial of the fact that she is going through a midlife crisis. I really enjoyed the optimistic and humorous approach to this topic.
March 10, 2012
Dash is a mother and a wife. Her mother had just passed away recently, and one night she found this puppy outside her house. Her husband protested against her decision to keep the dog, and somehow this broke something in Dash, and she walked out of her marriage, her home, and the life she had known. She then went on a journey to discover more about herself, to find out what she wants in life, etc. The typical soul searching thing, if you know what I mean.
I’ll get straight to the point: I hate this book. It was a slog, such a torture to finish it. In fact, the only reason I completed it was because I’ve already read half before it got unbearable, and I did not want to waste my efforts.
The main reason I did not like this book has little to do with writing and everything to do with the characters. While the words were apt and there were slices of humour around, I could barely relate to any of the characters. Especially Dash. In fact, it makes me angry sometimes, dealing with her. She is impulsive, unpredictable, and she does not know what she wants to do with her life. While it could have been interesting getting to know her, I could not accept the whirlwind that she is, and the constant reminder of that makes it tedious.
Dash’s husband Andrew was a bit more compelling, but he too, is saddled by the tiresome repetitive of description of his character. He appeared to be a little stereotypical as well, of an uptight professor (he makes lists, he’s a hypochondriac, he is orderly, blahblahblah...). The inclusion of office politics could have made for a balanced reading, but sadly, the names mentioned in department meetings and gossips were all foreign to me; there wasn’t much introduction to who those names belong to, which gave me little reason to care. It got wearisome when pages and pages were spent to describe the dynamics and the politics of Andrew’s work place.
The other characters were hardly all that interesting to me. Cottie, Shevlin, Greta, and Owen were the people Dash met during her separation from her husband, and they were all so goddamned wholesome it was hard to believe. Maybe it was Dash’s perception of them, and that she is prone to seeing the good in people, but really, those people have got to be saints! There is nothing they cannot do (manage a farm, genius at photography, knows first aid, build furniture in their free time, etc.) short of reviving the dead and building the Large Hadron Collider from scratch. While I thought that those characters were nice, the sheer amount of disbelief over the possibility of such people existing took the fun away. Plus, it made Dash and Andrew all the more unbearable…
I’ll tell you what I like about this book. I like the description of Dash’s work as a photographer. It was insightful, as I’ve never known how photographers work. I like Maureen, Dash’s friend who dishes out witty, often sarcastic advice. Still, that is scant consolation for a book over 300 pages long. I feel that I would probably enjoy this book more if Dash is a little easier to get to know, to befriend. Ultimately, I did not care about what happens to any of the character (and the writer did not make it harder for me to do that, since some of the characters just drop out without further mention, like Greta).
I’ll get straight to the point: I hate this book. It was a slog, such a torture to finish it. In fact, the only reason I completed it was because I’ve already read half before it got unbearable, and I did not want to waste my efforts.
The main reason I did not like this book has little to do with writing and everything to do with the characters. While the words were apt and there were slices of humour around, I could barely relate to any of the characters. Especially Dash. In fact, it makes me angry sometimes, dealing with her. She is impulsive, unpredictable, and she does not know what she wants to do with her life. While it could have been interesting getting to know her, I could not accept the whirlwind that she is, and the constant reminder of that makes it tedious.
Dash’s husband Andrew was a bit more compelling, but he too, is saddled by the tiresome repetitive of description of his character. He appeared to be a little stereotypical as well, of an uptight professor (he makes lists, he’s a hypochondriac, he is orderly, blahblahblah...). The inclusion of office politics could have made for a balanced reading, but sadly, the names mentioned in department meetings and gossips were all foreign to me; there wasn’t much introduction to who those names belong to, which gave me little reason to care. It got wearisome when pages and pages were spent to describe the dynamics and the politics of Andrew’s work place.
The other characters were hardly all that interesting to me. Cottie, Shevlin, Greta, and Owen were the people Dash met during her separation from her husband, and they were all so goddamned wholesome it was hard to believe. Maybe it was Dash’s perception of them, and that she is prone to seeing the good in people, but really, those people have got to be saints! There is nothing they cannot do (manage a farm, genius at photography, knows first aid, build furniture in their free time, etc.) short of reviving the dead and building the Large Hadron Collider from scratch. While I thought that those characters were nice, the sheer amount of disbelief over the possibility of such people existing took the fun away. Plus, it made Dash and Andrew all the more unbearable…
I’ll tell you what I like about this book. I like the description of Dash’s work as a photographer. It was insightful, as I’ve never known how photographers work. I like Maureen, Dash’s friend who dishes out witty, often sarcastic advice. Still, that is scant consolation for a book over 300 pages long. I feel that I would probably enjoy this book more if Dash is a little easier to get to know, to befriend. Ultimately, I did not care about what happens to any of the character (and the writer did not make it harder for me to do that, since some of the characters just drop out without further mention, like Greta).
April 30, 2016
I really liked this novel because I can identify with Dash so well at this time in my life...
January 4, 2024
Not as good as 'The Saving Graces' but better than any book either of the Obamas have written. Four stars may be a bit generous, but I'm having a rare good day.
June 18, 2016
My first library book choice for an adult reading challenge, Mad Dash jumped off the shelf: A bright and colorful cover, an author I hadn't read in the past, and not one of my usual genre choices. The challenge began.
This tale is a story about Dash, a successful photographer, her husband Andrew, a history professor, married 25 years with a daughter in college. Were they happily married? Could finding an abandoned, half-frozen puppy in their doorway upon returning from a faculty gathering be the catalyst for disaster? A novel that easily mirrors reality.
I love Gaffney's characterization. Dash and Andrew come alive with their contradictory personalities and real real life conflicts.
Personally, I do not care for the writing style of switching between 1st person POV (Dash) to the 3rd person (Andrew) and there were times of reading confusion actual vs internal dialogue.
Mad Dash starts out strong with steady progress towards the ending I couldn't wait to get to. No surprises which was disappointing. A slow-paced and pleasurable read, but this won't make it to the top of my recommended reading list.
This tale is a story about Dash, a successful photographer, her husband Andrew, a history professor, married 25 years with a daughter in college. Were they happily married? Could finding an abandoned, half-frozen puppy in their doorway upon returning from a faculty gathering be the catalyst for disaster? A novel that easily mirrors reality.
I love Gaffney's characterization. Dash and Andrew come alive with their contradictory personalities and real real life conflicts.
Personally, I do not care for the writing style of switching between 1st person POV (Dash) to the 3rd person (Andrew) and there were times of reading confusion actual vs internal dialogue.
Mad Dash starts out strong with steady progress towards the ending I couldn't wait to get to. No surprises which was disappointing. A slow-paced and pleasurable read, but this won't make it to the top of my recommended reading list.
July 26, 2016
So, I originally gave this book 2 stars because at the conclusion of it I felt a little flat. I was also extremely annoyed by the "Andrew" parts of the book. He's the husband, a history professor, who tells his story through half of the book and all the "drama" that ensues in the history department of his university. I changed it to 3 stars when I began reading other people's reviews who hated the book and hated Dash, the wife. I found myself becoming defensive of her and her plight. Yes, she had the perfect life and ran away from it. I guess we could look at her as being spoiled and unappreciative. But, aren't we all at some point? I mean, I have a pretty decent life, but every now and then I want to run away from it all. And she just lost her mom! Doesn't that give her the right to a little breakdown? And as for all the haters who criticized the book for its happy ending, well, I applaud it's happy ending. These were two good people who genuinely loved each other, but hit a bump, a pretty significant one with the passing of her mom. They both came to their senses, and yes, I believe that can happen.
June 17, 2012
Yay! I finished this painstaking read!
I will cut right to it, I couldn't stand the main character, Dash. What a spoiled, indulgent woman. I wish I could just check out for months while trying to figure out what it is that has me upset. But, I can't and I don't know any other person who can. I get that there are some changes going on in her life and she needs to reevaluate her thoughts on her life. But to leave her husband to do it? Crazy.
Andrew (the husband) makes an observation that this is the third time that she has left. Dash then takes us into her life when she did. Turns out, all that Dash needed was for Andrew to come and get her. She needed a show of affection out of character so that she knew she was loved and needed. I get that, I do. I am the queen of wanting the grand gesture. But to set my husband up with a separation to get it is just childish and mean.
I will cut right to it, I couldn't stand the main character, Dash. What a spoiled, indulgent woman. I wish I could just check out for months while trying to figure out what it is that has me upset. But, I can't and I don't know any other person who can. I get that there are some changes going on in her life and she needs to reevaluate her thoughts on her life. But to leave her husband to do it? Crazy.
Andrew (the husband) makes an observation that this is the third time that she has left. Dash then takes us into her life when she did. Turns out, all that Dash needed was for Andrew to come and get her. She needed a show of affection out of character so that she knew she was loved and needed. I get that, I do. I am the queen of wanting the grand gesture. But to set my husband up with a separation to get it is just childish and mean.
March 10, 2009
I almost put this book down after the first two chapters. It seemed like the story of a spoiled woman who doesn't know how good she has it. Then the point of view shifts to her husband, from whom she has just separated (on a trial basis) and later we get their daughter's perspective. These other two points of view make the story bearable, but the main character - Dash - never really changes. In my opinion, she thinks the world revolves around her and when things don't go her way, she runs off. Even though most of the story revolved around her, I hope the author didn't want the reader to sympathize with Dash. Even when she seemed to have revelations about her life, she still wasn't very likable.
I did finish it because I had hope that she would evolve. Nope.
Not recommended.
I did finish it because I had hope that she would evolve. Nope.
Not recommended.
October 14, 2007
When I get a book, I usually read it in one weekend. This one I've had for almost 3 weeks and still haven't finished it. The more I read the more I dislike the main character Dash - she's a throw back from the 1980's show "Thirty Something". So whiney and self-consumed yet thinks she knows what's best for everyone else. I'm more interested in her friend "Mo". I haven't felt like this about a book in a very long time - I wish I would have bought the cookbook I had put back, I would have enjoyed it more. Just a couple chapters left & I can't finish it, so I cheated & read the last few pages and shelved it. First time I've ever done that.
May 14, 2015
Really more like 2 1/2 stars. If you're on a road trip listening to the audiobook, it will hold your interest but had I been reading this I probably would have skipped to the end. :)
Well written enough but the main character was so annoying I wanted to yell at her! The other characters were such cliches-- the perfect daughter, the hypochondriac husband with an overbearing father, the seductive female professor, the wise old country woman and her gruff but lovable husband and on and on. I would have said it had a totally unrealistic plot but I know someone going through a similar separation.
Well written enough but the main character was so annoying I wanted to yell at her! The other characters were such cliches-- the perfect daughter, the hypochondriac husband with an overbearing father, the seductive female professor, the wise old country woman and her gruff but lovable husband and on and on. I would have said it had a totally unrealistic plot but I know someone going through a similar separation.
December 14, 2016
I finished it, even though a lot of it was pretty boring. I was looking for the story of the marriage itself but it was mostly about the main character Dash. She is not a very interesting person even though she and other characters keep trying to tell us that she is. She is one of those people who force advice down other people's throats--to the point of chasing her assistant through the door crying!--but doesn't know how to handle her own life. Hilariously, she realizes this about herself but doesn't try to grow from it.
And the parts where she gets inside her own she head are just outright boring. Skip it, I kind of feel silly having wasted the time on it.
And the parts where she gets inside her own she head are just outright boring. Skip it, I kind of feel silly having wasted the time on it.
October 9, 2011
Simplistic characters: reliable, boring professorial husband vs fun, dissatisfied wife experiencing empty nest syndrome with a vengeance. How dare her daughter go away to college!
Wife decides to flee to their cabin (fortunately for her, her husband's boring, reliable job provides them a nice income) and "find herself." Well, there isn't much to find. She's about as deep as a puddle on a flat sidewalk.
I read the first couple of chapters, skimmed over the rest of it. Wanted to find some semblance of true story but alas, it was not to be. Glad this one was cheap-cheap-cheap used book.
Wife decides to flee to their cabin (fortunately for her, her husband's boring, reliable job provides them a nice income) and "find herself." Well, there isn't much to find. She's about as deep as a puddle on a flat sidewalk.
I read the first couple of chapters, skimmed over the rest of it. Wanted to find some semblance of true story but alas, it was not to be. Glad this one was cheap-cheap-cheap used book.
September 9, 2010
Dash, main character, was so self absorbed and self involved. I had this as an audiobook.
If it had been in print, I wouldn't have finished it. it is hard to read a book when you
don't like the characters. I feel sorry for her husband who has to put up with her selfish
whims. This isn't about introspection or self actualization. It is a character blaming everyone
else for her own dissatisfaction. Not appealing.
If it had been in print, I wouldn't have finished it. it is hard to read a book when you
don't like the characters. I feel sorry for her husband who has to put up with her selfish
whims. This isn't about introspection or self actualization. It is a character blaming everyone
else for her own dissatisfaction. Not appealing.
September 6, 2016
Not bad, but definitely had no trouble putting the book down periodically. Dash, the main character was just all over the place emotionally, so it was hard to connect. Her mother dies and she falls apart, almost ruining her marriage. She has a very loving and patient husband who doesn't give up on her, while she is having this extended meltdown. My favorite character by far was Cottie, Dash's elderly neighbor lady in the woods. I could read an entire book about this character.
September 30, 2014
The first chapter was great. The rest of the book was good, but it didn't live up to that first chapter.
Dash wasn't mad, she was just having a mid-life crisis. It would have been more interesting if she had been mad.
Dash wasn't mad, she was just having a mid-life crisis. It would have been more interesting if she had been mad.
September 28, 2021
This was a fun, easy book to read. I enjoyed the plot and the path to self discovery. There were some really, cute fun moments.
The main character's motivation was a bit suspect for me, but I still enjoyed her whims even if I'm not sure the ending is wholly realistic.
The main character's motivation was a bit suspect for me, but I still enjoyed her whims even if I'm not sure the ending is wholly realistic.
September 24, 2017
My favorite character was Sock the dog. Enough said.
June 12, 2018
Another chick-lit author I really enjoy and I thought this was great. Plus, I love stories set in DC/Virginia.
October 27, 2021
I liked it a lot. Reminded me of reconciling with my husband. Nothing major or climactic, just life happening. Fleeting passions come and go but the things that matter are there in the end.
November 27, 2021
The ending was very anti-climactic. I kept waiting for the big reveal - what had Dash learned. And it never came. The end was a slow roll to a stop.
December 19, 2017
Mad Dash is the story of a woman going through a midlife crisis. Maybe it's my age, but I had a hard time relating to her-- she was clearly very much in love with her husband, but at the same time regretting her marriage and possibly wanting out, but also somewhat aware that her marriage wasn't really the problem. I'm sure that these are incredibly realistic feelings, but I'm just not there. I also, from the reviews quoted on the cover (and the friend that gave me the book), expected it to be funnier. Maybe I took everything too seriously, and the conflicting emotions are supposed to be absurd? I don't really know. I kept reading because I have Disney-like faith that things will end happily in books, but I felt like I spent the entire novel wanting to shake the characters who were CONSTANTLY on the verge of making INCREDIBLY poor decisions.
May 24, 2019
If I pick up another damn book with a dog on its cover that is not really about a dog, I will scream. But for this one I will just be comfortable with skimming the last two-thirds and putting it in my little free library in hopes that someone else will enjoy it. I suppose there is a reason they say not to judge a book by its cover.
Dash leaves her husband because he doesn’t want to keep a puppy found almost frozen on their front porch. She’s having an empty-nester/orphan situation cuz her daughter Chloe went off to college and her mom just died. The book was a relationship drama about all these players. Sock, the dog, was a bit player with no spoken lines. I have to admit I found this book so hard to get into that when I’d pick it up again, I’d forget that Dash was a person and not a dog. Dash is a very good dog name.
Dash leaves her husband because he doesn’t want to keep a puppy found almost frozen on their front porch. She’s having an empty-nester/orphan situation cuz her daughter Chloe went off to college and her mom just died. The book was a relationship drama about all these players. Sock, the dog, was a bit player with no spoken lines. I have to admit I found this book so hard to get into that when I’d pick it up again, I’d forget that Dash was a person and not a dog. Dash is a very good dog name.
September 12, 2017
The first chapter was great and there are some wonderful profound quotes and parts to this story but as a whole it just made me jealous and a little mad. It is supposed to tell about grieving, the main character has lost her mother, her daughter is in college, and she is feeling lost. I get that, but isn't it nice to have the money and time to "find Yourself" and the people who love you just wait around for that to happen. It's not that I don't understand her feelings for the most part, I am just mad she gets to have her time and space. I am not even unhappy, I just slog away at work 5 days a week and there is so much more I want to be doing but I have to eat and pay bills and there are people who depend on me.
February 1, 2019
This story is told from perspective of a couple undergoing a separation. I liked that there was an opportunity to see both sides, but after about fifty pages, I stopped caring. The characters weren’t likeable. They were selfish and Gaffney did a lot of explaining what they were thinking and it was really painful. The only likeable person here was the daughter and she oddly got one chapter from her perspective. It just felt like a mess and I’m glad it’s done.
December 15, 2017
3.5 stars
Alternated between being really annoyed with the protagonist and laughing out loud. Appreciated that the author didn't take the story where so many others would have.
Kept putting the book down, and actually started another, almost gave up, but decided to finish it because of P's 4 star rating. Glad I did, the ending saved it all.
Alternated between being really annoyed with the protagonist and laughing out loud. Appreciated that the author didn't take the story where so many others would have.
Kept putting the book down, and actually started another, almost gave up, but decided to finish it because of P's 4 star rating. Glad I did, the ending saved it all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews