Barton - Dog Medicine

DOG MEDICINE

Anyone who has ever opened their heart and asked an animal to teach them how to liveand there are so many of uswill be deeply moved by the story of Julie Barton and her soulmate Bunker. In this honest, gloriously unselfconscious and compelling memoir, she does great honor, not only to her dog, but to the miracles made possible when logic, and even language, is not allowed to stand in the way of love.

P AM H OUSTON, AUTHOR OF S I GHT H OUND

Dog Medicine is the kind of memoir that will bring tears of sadness and joy to anyone who has ever felt rescued by a pet. It is about how the right animal can inspire not just hope but mercy. Julie Bartons prose is lyrical and unflinching, a gorgeous howl in the darkness that leads the reader into the light.

S TEVE A LMOND, AUTHOR OF C ANDYFREAK

Dog Medicine accomplishes what only the most authentic writing can do: craft language so that readers live an experience. In this brilliant and lyrical debut memoir, Barton has written a narrative of inescapable appeal. The bond, here, between human and animal isnt easy or sentimentalrather, its archetypal and magical. There is a Buddhist story of a Bodhisattva, an enlightened one, who refused to enter paradise until an ailing companion dog could also enter. Dog Medicine relates an equally powerful story of devotion, only related in real, worldly terms with heartbreaking consequences and rewards.

S UE W ILLIAM S ILVERMAN,
AUTHOR OF T HE P AT B OONE F A N C LUB :M Y L IFE AS A W HITE A NGLO -S AXON J EW

There are times when another creature can hold our love until we can hold it for ourselves. And then, in perfect symbiosis, the beloved can become the lover, until they are one force. Dog Medicine shows us that this is not just possible, but sometimes, a matter of life or death.

L AURA M UNSON, N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUT HOR OF T HIS I S N OT T HE S TORY Y OU T HINK I T I S

Julie Bartons memoir Dog Medicine is the most heartbreaking and heartwarming book Ive read in years. It tells both the harrowing story of a depression so severe that Barton felt it might vaporize her into millions of tiny molecules and the consoling story of her eventual recovery through the love of and for her beloved dog and spirit twin, Bunker. Reader, this book about how Bartons dog changed her life will change your life.

D AVID J AUSS, AUT HOR OF G LOSSOLALIA : N EW &S ELECTED S TORIES

Dog Medicine is so powerfully written, so lyrical and true, I felt Id experienced every moment, all the loss, the crushing depression, the compassion, the great unstoppable love. So much love. Julie Bartons journey with her beautiful dog Bunker from despair to hope was a profound exercise in how to be healed. For that, Im deeply grateful for having read this amazing book.

A LAN H EATHCOCK, AUTHOR OF V OLT

In Dog Medicine, Julie Barton has the cure for the common memoir. Not only an account of the unshakable bond between dog and woman, her tale is a clear-eyed exploration of love, both given and received, which heals our damaged souls and makes us whole again. Youll come back to this book again and again.

S AMANTHA D UNN , AUTHOR N OT BY A CCIDENT : R ECONSTRUCTI NG A C ARELESS L IFE

Julie Bartons wise, wonderful, impeccably written memoir is not just a book about how a puppy can help keep at bay the gray wolf of depression. Its also a book filled with love stories and stories of people finding their better selves, all dramatized with novelistic suspense and complexity. In this age of hour-long therapy shows and sensationalistic self-depiction, Bartons book holds true wisdom as it tells the hard-earned truths of mental illness, self-doubt, abuse, hope, family, forgiveness, connection with self and others, and finally something close to salvation. Barton gives real insight, conveyed through incisive, evocative prose. And she proves the adage that purpose comes not only from how well we are loved but by how well we love.

T IM P ARRISH , AUTHOR OF F EAR AND W HAT F OLLOWS AND T HE J UMPER

A raw and honest memoir about Julie Bartons clinical depression and how the love of a dog helped pull her back from hell. An eloquent testament to the resilience of humans and the healing power of canine love.

S USAN R ICHAR DS , N EW Y ORK T IMES BE STSELLING AUTHOR OF C HOSEN BY A H ORSE

It is not easy to explore the frightening landscape of depression with depth and surprising beauty. But Julie Barton has done just that. As someone who has lived with chronic depression for many years, I can tell you from personal experience how daunting and misunderstood this disease is. Not surprising that it takes the love and loyalty and unwavering sanity of a dogany pet, really to reach those of us struggling to find a way through the grips of melancholy. This, I know from experience, too. Read this book if you or someone you love is wrestling with depression. Read this book if you love dogs. Read this book if you want to remember what hope feels like. Just read this book.

S USAN C HERNAK M C E LROY , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A NIM ALS AS T EACHERS AND H EALERS

Julie Barton was haunted by a major depression that threatened to topple her. What could one small puppy, Bunker, do in the face of such calamity? Only when Barton created a sacred place where she and Bunker could meet, a place without ridicule, doubt, sorrow, or anger, could the true healing begin. Her meticulous rendering of this transformation honors the power of love.

J ACQUELINE R. S HEEHAN , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF L OST & F OUND

This absorbing memoir travels along the axis of depression and hope in beautifully crafted prose. Barton uses fresh language to provide a better understanding of the depths of depression, and introduces us to Bunker, her saving grace who throughout the book holds readers in their place.

M ARCE LLE S OVIERO , EDITOR - I N - CHIEF OF B RAIN , C HI LD : T HE M AGAZINE FOR T HINKING M OTHERS

Anyone who has ever loved a dog will relate to Julie Bartons Dog Medicine. This memoir is a heartfelt tribute to mans best friend.

E LL IOTT H OLT , AUTHOR OF Y OU A RE O NE OF T HEM

PENGUIN BOOKS

DOG MEDICINE

Julie Barton has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, has been published in several magazines and journals including Brain Child, Two Hawks Quarterly, The Huffington Post, Louisiana Literature, and The South Carolina Review, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two daughters, and a small menagerie of pets. Find her at www.byjuliebarton.com.

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