A family doesn’t only consist of the people in out, but the pets too!

Synopsis

An unexpected call means the end of the marriage of Meriel and Phil. Hearing Phil having ‘fun’ with another woman, makes sure that Meriel’s world is falling apart.
Not only is there the loss of her marriage, but also having two teenage children in a mood doesn’t help things, add a friend’s own trouble and it’s obvious that Meriel doesn’t know what to do… And then a great loss makes her put things back in perspective… or not?
Luckily she can always count on the family Labrador Benji, that understands each family member’s feelings better than they think. And Benji is also struggling with the changing dynamics, while his own greatest wish is to have his family back together like before…

My review

I have to say, reading a book through a dog’s perspective was something very new for me. And it was also very refreshing! 

It shows us that pets, not only dogs, can understand human feelings, perhaps even better than ourselves!
And it was very cute to see how Benji is trying to there for each member and trying to hold his family together. 

On the other hand we are also reading Meriel’s perspective, and that shows us a truly heart – broking woman, hurt, dubious over each decision she has to make and also facing other difficult moments in her life.
Even if somehow I could understand her hut and doubts, I found it also frustrating, purely as a reader, how she couldn’t stick to her decision…  One moment she wants to give her husband a chance, then she doesn’t anymore. She starts to see another man, but gets angry when Phil officially dates the ‘other woman’.
I just kept thinking that she can’t have the cake and eat it too! 

But also on the other direction I found it frustrating, Phil wants to save his marriage but at the first setback, he kind of just gives up…

Despite being described as a novella, there is a lot going on. The marriage falling apart is the start of everything, but the list only gets bigger and bigger.
And seeing not only people trying to get a hold on things, but also that lovely Labrador, was not only very realistic, but also gave us insights in how everybody copes with unexpected twists in their lives.

Maybe there were a bit too many twists, but that also is life, sometimes you don’t know what else is lurking around the corner.

A family life doesn’t always goes straightforward, and you have to work with what you have, and always be honest to yourself too. When is something worth the fight and when is something truly insurmountable?
And this book shows perfectly how difficult the right decision can be, and how one decision affects all the lives of your loved ones, furred or not…