Click Here To Purchase Another Bad-Dog Book: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior

Author: Joni B. Cole

ISBN-13: 978-1-935557-16-6

Publisher: Publishing Works, Inc.

Joni B. Cole, like many working moms (myself included), has put together a charming and witty book of essays about everything from fashion faux pas to relationship roulette. Starting with the title essay about her rescue dog, Eli, Ms. Cole writes with humor and heart, sharing her most personal and honest observations about life’s ups and downs, while holding back nothing from her readers.

At first glance I expected more stories about the trials and tribulations of dog ownership. After all I, myself, am a proud mom to a fourteen year old shelter dog (give or take a year or two due to the fact that the vet was unsure of the exact age of our Jack Russell / Black Lab mixed breed dog we affectionately call Jett) and can totally relate to the never ending antics of these beloved and loyal creatures.

But I must admit I was just as pleased with the collection of essays that followed and found it a hard book to put down. For a while there I thought the author must have read my own mind (or at the very least my Facebook profile page). It became obvious, rather quickly, that we share many common traits and character flaws… and that’s okay. Who among us doesn’t have bad hair days on occasion? What woman doesn’t need two separate closets to house her BK clothes (before kids) and her AK(A): fat clothes (after kids)? We can’t help but laugh along with Coles as she describes her misadventures with Spanx and hair dyes. Similarly, we are sometimes brought to tears while reliving our own memories of putting our elderly parents in Nursing Homes, losing friends and self diagnosing our every ache and pain via the Internet.

As someone who has always lived on the east coast, albeit in New York, I can identify with the author’s ambiguity about the distance and yet the closeness that Vermont has to offer. My family has skied there for over twenty years and we continue to go back there year after year. Every one of us has suffered at the hands of a school bully at one time or another. As tweens we’ve both loved and hated our parents; as teens we’ve had our hearts broken by a first love and as adults we’ve had our share of marital troubles. It is so refreshing and somehow original to read the author’s own accounts of these monumental and sometimes earth-shattering milestones.

Whether you are a parent or a child or a dog owner this book offers something for everyone. If you are in search of “The Secret” or your biological clock is ticking away or you are one of those people who believe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, then you really need to read this book. But be warned… at some point you may also start to feel like a victim of identity theft!