b'books, movies, music & more.A REGULAR COLUMN FEATURING REVIEWS OF DOG-THEMED BOOKS, MUSIC & FILMLoving Edie, written by Meredith May The memoir intertwines the past with the present inPublished by ParkRow Books, 2022 stories about Meredith and Jenns childhoods, each of themMeredithsangintoStellas earuntilthebeautiful growing up in difficult situations. Their individual experi-Golden Retriever shed known for 12 years took her last ences have made these two humans compassionate, kind,breath. It was at that moment when Meredith felt some- loving,problem-solvers,andalsoveryvulnerable.thing fuse between her and her wife, Jenn. Like our hearts Meredith, the journalist, is always poking around in searchscarred over the same wound, writes Meredith in her most of the answer or to find a better way of doing something.recent book, Loving Edie. Stella was an easy dog to love.Jenn, the police lieutenant, is always cautious, pragmatic,Without a dog by her side, Meredith felt as if she was and understanding. These traits come in handy once theymissing a limb. Jenn, however, was not so sure about rais- are faced with Edies sudden issues of fear.ing a puppy. Shed spent five years with Stella, knowing her Eventually, Meredith blames herself for trying to wishonly as an adult dog. After Meredith crafts a cuteness cam- Edie into the dog she wants her to be. She realizes that shepaign,Jennasksaquestion,outoftheblue,one has put her needs andevening,HowaboutEdith?suggestinganameforthe desires to have Edie bepuppy they didnt yet have. Its all Meredith needed to hear StellaIIaboveherbeforejumpingonthephonewithalocalbreederof dogs need to feel safe. Golden Retrievers. LovingEdie isa I have always moved at warp speed and get irritable multi-layeredlovestory;onebetweenwhen people and circumstances slow me down. And MeredithandJenn,sometimesmythoughtlessforwardmotioncomes andtheonebothofbacktobiteme,likenow,whenthisdogishere themhaveintheirsharedlovefortheirbecause I insisted on it, and this dog is asking me to dog Edie.please be a different person for her. A person with SanFrancisco,the selflessness of a mother. The irony is not lost on Carmel and eventuallyme that I avoided motherhood my whole life and now anidyllicsettinginMonterey play signifi-I am being asked to behave more like one. Do I love cant roles in the book.In between, there are some heart-Edie enough to take this on? Do I even know how to stoppingmomentswheneverythinggoesawryjustafterrehabilitate a dog? Ive always had a dog in my life everything seemed to be going so right. With a dog likeEdie, ones guard must always be on high-alert, especially into make me feel better; Id never considered that the situations away from home. There are plenty of lessons inroles could someday be reversed. I dont even know this book. where to begin. Meredith May from Loving Edie Everyone has an opinion on how to raise a dog, feed adog,socialize,andexerciseadog.Meredithmakesanobservation at Ediths veterinary clinic that, dogs are theAll indicators suggested that puppy Edie was destined measuring sticks we use to judge one another. If your dog isto be another perfect dog for Meredith. Both she and Jenn well-mannered, well that means you must be a good person.did all the right things, including poring over tons of read- If your dog has some kind of behavioral problem, well thereing material about raising a puppy. Back when Meredith must be something wrong with the home-environment.was socializing Stella, the emphasis was on quantity with It dawns on Meredith that she has been more focusedthestandardadvicebeingintroducethepuppyto200 and frustrated that Edies difficulties are making her lookdifferent people and expose them to 50 different places by bad to others. Maybe Edie came along to teach me that thethetimetheyaresixmonthsold. Thankfully,nowthe human-caninerelationshipisntallaboutthehuman, emphasis is on quality. Meredith writes. U46 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'