Lessons from Tara

June 1, 2015
Rosenfelt's latest work of nonfiction has a slightly misleading title; although Tara, the author's first dog, takes center stage, other dogsa handful of the hundreds the author and his wife have taken in over the yearsdo make some appearances. The book's theme is pretty straightforward: here are some of the things I've learned about myself through my dogs. Grieving after Tara's death, for example, allowed Rosenfelt to open up a more emotional side of himself; other dogs have shown him how to cope with stress, how to put others ahead of himself, how to exist in a seriously hectic environment (his house is always full of dogs), how to find the small joys in a busy day, how to manage with a lack of sleep, and more. There's not a lot here to appeal to fans of Rosenfelt's crime fictionhe's the author of the Andy Carpenter series, as well as some stand-alonesbut readers who enjoyed 2013's Dogtripping, the author's chronicle of his cross-country adventures with an assortment of dogs, should have a good time. A slight book, but an entertaining one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)