Book review: Marley & Me by John Grogan

Sure, I have read a few memoirs before. Some were spine chilling while others made me feel grateful. No matter the tone or the range of emotions it conveyed, they all shared one thing in common; they were all about humans. As I am continuing my journey through the world of leisure reading, I have hit a milestone. I have read my first memoir about a pet. Not just any pet but the beloved Grogan's Majestic Marley of Churchill a.k.a Marley the dog!


One evening, as I was strolling through my neighborhood, I stopped to check out the books in our nearby little library. Thinking it would be a fun and easy read, I picked up Marley & Me, a memoir written by John Grogan. Since I have never owned a dog before, or have read much books about them, I was a bit curious frankly. I picked it up and started reading pretty much the second I got home. Towards the last chapters, from my soul came an ache. Like a cloudy sky, moments before a thunderstorm, my eyes started to well up. And in the end, I cried. No, I howled!

For canine lovers and those who have pet dogs, this tale must be heart wrenching and soul stirring. Every living creature is mortal and with a finite life but with our emotional rationale, we always tell ourselves that our loved ones are immortal and always hope that they will never cease to exist. So when one day they cease to breathe, the shock and numbness further amplifies the pain of loss. And for those like myself who do not have pets or aren't really familiar with them, this book serves as an eye opener and reinforces the old adage about a dog being man's best friend.



“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not.” -John Grogan, “Marley & Me”

This memoir is written with intimate descriptions in such a way that the author was successful in showing us a snapshot of his life around Marley. After reading the book, I understood how important and valuable a pet is to a family. As a matter of fact, how they too are included in the fabric of the family.



“I began the column by describing my walk down the hill with the shovel at dawn and how odd it was to be outdoors without Marley, who for thirteen years had made it his business to be at my side for any excursion. “And now here I was alone,” I wrote, “digging him this hole.”” -John Grogan, “Marley & Me”

-Rithin


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