by Susan Wilson
Published by Wheeler Publishing,
a part of Gale, Cengrage Learning
Copyright 2010
One Good Dog, by Susan Wilson, is a moving story about how a
dog can merge into our life and help us learn about our own humanity. It is a
story told from two points of view: the main character, Adam March, and the
unnamed dog who he encounters. Both are hardened warriors. Adam in the trenches
of the corporate world, where he has clawed and climbed his was up out of
poverty and the foster homes in which he was raised to a life of
nothing-but-the-best luxury. The dog, a pit bull mix, who has slashed and
killed his way through human-arranged dog fights just to remain alive in a
small cage without human kindness or the normal social contact with other dogs.
Their story is told with unflinching clarity and simplicity, making it the kind
of good book that you can’t wait to continue reading.
The brief prologue, told from the dog’s point of view,
introduces us to these two warriors making eye contact for the first time and
the dog recognizing Adam as a fellow warrior. Though Adam and the dog don’t
meet until later in the book, the prologue peaks our interest and we want to
read more. We are introduced to Adam living the high-stress life of a corporate
executive in a plush office, with three homes and a token wife focused on climbing
ever-higher on the social ladder to keep their daughter going to the right
schools, wearing the right clothes, and knowing the right people. Adam’s house
of cards comes tumbling down when his assistant leaves him a Post-it with the
message, “You’re sister called” and we learn that Adam’s sister disappeared
from his life when his was young. His emotions spiral out of control as memories
of his past life as an abandoned child intrude on his upwardly mobile. In a
rage, he slaps his assistant, which causes him to lose his job, his wife and
daughter, and most of his money. Frankly, we don’t feel sorry for him at this
point because he is callous about his underlings and too proud of his top-dog
stance.
We meet the other top-dog as he enters his newest fight. The pit bull’s attitude toward his opponents contrasts brilliantly with Adam’s. Where Adam’s is malevolent, the dog’s is benign. His “sorry I had to kill you, but good fight” show’s more compassion than Adam’s detestable attitude toward the Judge and his court-invoked volunteer work at the Fort Street Center offering food and shelter to homeless men. Ironically, the law intervenes in the life of both characters. Animal Control invades the house where the pit bulls are fought and rescues the dogs. Only our top-dog escapes them, dragging the pole leash behind him.
It is not surprising that we like the dog more the Adam at
first. However, as Adam works through his emotional baggage to learn compassion
for those less fortunate than himself, we develop an attachment to Adam. Each
step Adam takes brings him closer to the kind of man we might befriend, until
eventually he learns about forgiveness. I would recommend this book to anyone
who likes reading about growing, changing and becoming a better person.