Random Things Tours - When Harry Met Minnie

 

TITLE: When Harry Met Minnie

AUTHOR: Martha Teichner

PUBLISHER: Octopus Books

PUBLISHING DATE: February 4, 2021

PAGES: 256

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: 

There are true fairy tales. Stories that exist because impossible-to-explain coincidences change everything. Except in real life, not all of them have conventional, happily-ever-after endings. When Harry Met Minnie is that kind of fairy tale, with the vibrant, romantic New York City backdrop of its namesake, the movie When Harry Met Sally, and the bittersweet wisdom of Tuesdays with Morrie. 

There's a special camaraderie among early-morning dog walkers. Gathering at dog runs in the park, or strolling through the farmer's market at Union Square before the bustling crowd appears, fellow pet owners become familiar-as do the personalities of their beloved animals. In this special space and time, a chance encounter with an old acquaintance changed Martha Teichner's world. As fate would have it, her friend knew someone who was dying of cancer, from exposure to toxins after 9/11, and desperate to find a home for her dog, Harry. He was a Bull Terrier--the same breed as Martha's dear Minnie. Would Martha consider giving Harry a safe, loving new home? 

In short order, boy dog meets girl dog, the fairy tale part of this story. But there is so much more to this book. After Martha agrees to meet Harry and his owner Carol, what begins as a transaction involving a dog becomes a deep and meaningful friendship between two women with complicated lives and a love of Bull Terriers in common. Through the heartbreak and grief of Carol's illness, the bond that develops changed Martha's life, Carol's life, Minnie's life, Harry's life. As it changed Carol's death as well. 

In this rich and touching narrative, Martha considers the ways our stories are shaped by the people we meet, and the profound love we can find by opening our hearts to unexpected.

MY THOUGHTS: I just knew this book would make me cry and I was right.  Yet from the moment I learned of its release, I knew I had to read it despite knowing that.  And I'm so glad I did and even happier to be a part of the blog tour for its release.

Martha had always loved Bull Terriers and had owned a few, even one with the adorable name Piggy.  Shen her beloved Goose dies, she knows how lonely her remaining dog Minnie has become.  She is just at the point where she is thinking of adding a new pet to her home when by chance, or perhaps fate, she runs into an old friend.  This friend just happens to have a very good friend who is dying from cancer and she is trying to find a home for her very complicated Bull Terrier, Harry.  What begins next is a courtship between Harry and Minnie, and a friendship between Martha and Carol, Harry's owner, that only spanned a short period of time but was so large it should have lasted for decades.

I loved everything about this book.  Martha's description of her dogs, of Carol's life and apartment, and of her home, New York City, are both touching and beautiful.  Even having an idea of a lot of the ending, I still couldn't turn the pages quick enough.  Even though Harry came with quite a bit of baggage and some tremendous medical issues, I think Martha knew from the beginning she would welcome him into her family even though it took her much longer to admit it to others and even herself.

And Harry and Minnie. I couldn't read enough about them and the emails they exchanged when they were dating were something I could see myself doing for one of my beloved pets.  I mean after all, my beloved Cassius has an human girlfriend and they exchange gifts and cards quite frequently and we even call her family his in-laws.  

If you love dogs, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this book. I will definitely be looking to add a physical copy to my favorite dog book shelf because I loved it that much.  Many thanks to Martha for sharing such a lovely story.

RATING: 5 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Martha Teichner has been a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning” since December 1993. Since joining CBS News in 1977, Teichner has earned multiple national awards for her original reporting, including 11 Emmy Awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and five James Beard Foundation Awards. 

Martha has reported on some of the largest national and international stories of this era, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the run-up to the war in Iraq, the death of Princess Diana and the life and death of Nelson Mandela. She’s interviewed world leaders and other newsmakers, including then-first lady Hillary Clinton. 

Now based in New York, Teichner spent more than a dozen years as a foreign correspondent covering major international news. Teichner was twice assigned to the CBS News London bureau (1980-1984, 1989-1994), covering the Northern Ireland hunger strikes, the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, and was one of only a handful of female war correspondents. 

Teichner covered the Lebanon War, the 1st Intifada in 1988 in Israel and the West Bank, embedded with the US First Armored Division in the Persian Gulf War, covered the conflicts associated with the collapse of Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia) and spent three years in South Africa during the last years of apartheid. She reported on the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the Romanian revolution. Teichner also spent several weeks in the Bolivian jungle covering undercover operations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.