Leigh Brill was born with cerebral palsy, and until she was in her twenties, she struggled every day to hide her handicaps as much as possible, to project an image of complete normalcy, and to be “twice as good” in order to be treated like everyone else. Then one day she has a chance meeting with a new classmate—a woman with a service dog trained to provide mobility assistance. After some exposure to what the boxer Caesar can do for Anne, Leigh accepts a brochure for Caring Canine Companions from her, and eventually talks herself into making that first phone call. Sylvia helps her to open up about the difficulties her cerebral palsy causes her and what she needs help with, and she fills out an application. After a wait of nine months, she is introduced to a yellow Lab named Slugger, and his trainer, Vickie Polk.

We follow Leigh and Slugger through their training and adjustment to each other, Leigh’s newly freed life with Slugger to assist her, and her first meeting with her future husband, Pranav. The new family comes together, and we follow their personal and professional progress. Slugger is dedicated and totally professional when his harness is on—and a typical goofball Lab when his harness is off. Slugger and Pranav develop their own relationship, parallel to and separate from the relationships they each have with Leigh.

We get flashbacks to Leigh’s childhood, which are sometimes enlightening and sometimes distracting, but the story of her life with Slugger and Pranav, her encounter with employment discrimination, and her own growth in turn into an advocate and tireless worker for service dogs and the freedom they bring to those who need them remains engaging and keeps moving forward. There’s a marvelous account of a presentation Leigh and Slugger give at a grade school, introducing children to service dogs, what they can do, and why you shouldn’t just run up and pet them. It is painfully clear that many of the children have never met a really well-trained dog of any kind, and they are astounded by how smart and how helpful a dog can be.

Since this is real life, and Slugger is a service dog, the time comes when he has to retire, and Leigh, Slugger, and Pranav all have to adjust to the introduction of a new service dog into their lives and home, a female yellow Lab named Kenda. One of the most touching sections of the book concerns Slugger’s aging, and the growth of the friendship between the two dogs, as Kenda starts to assist Slugger, too, such as when he wants to play fetch but has difficulty seeing where the toy was tossed.
This is a wonderful autobiography and an insight into the world of service dogs and those who rely on them.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NegGalley. ( )

This is a great book about Leigh & her wonderful dog named Slugger.

Leigh has CP, though as a child/teen she denied her illness. Through Slugger, she learns how to better deal with her disease, learns she is more than her disease, and learns how to love not only herself & Slugger, but others as well(OK, I realize this sentence sounds way too corny, but it's all true). Slugger not only improves her own life, but the others that Leigh works with in her career.

The book is written for young adults, so I admit I did not "learn" anything from the book. It was definitely interesting learning about how dogs are trained to become "work dogs" and how humans learn to work equally with the dogs, but nothing new was presented to me. This was not enough to really detract from the book at all.

The ending of course, is a tear jerker, and is the reason why I don't normally review books like this. ( )

E Book - Roy A lady who cerebral palsy accounts how she got a service dog. Slow Read ( )

A touching memoir of the years the author spent with her first service dog and how their relationship grew and their lives changed as a result. A quick informative read. ( )

Loved it!! ( )