DENALI: A MAN, A DOG, AND THE FRIENDSHIP OF A LIFETIME
by Ben Moon
Rating: 4 paws & a tail wag
(Contains spoilers)
Ben Moon’s memoir, Denali, is a captivating and inspiring tale. Moon, an outdoor adventurer, athlete and photographer, is diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of thirty, and must overcome the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges the diagnosis will have on his active and nomadic lifestyle. Through it all, Ben’s dog, Denali, is his constant companion. Denali’s unconditional love and support help him adjust to his new reality.
Authentic and full of honest, raw emotion, Moon does a great job of guiding us through his odyssey. His story is relatable on multiple levels: to athletes, dog lovers, and anyone who has had cancer touch their lives.
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books (January 14, 2020)
- ISBN-10: 0143133616
Ben Moon is an adventure and lifestyle photographer turned director and filmmaker who uses his intuitive sensibilities to bring individuals and their stories to life: from climbing and surfing images, to music videos, to behind-the-scenes moments and narratives. For more than seventeen years his work has been featured in the esteemed Patagonia catalogs, where he seeks to capture the beauty and authenticity of people challenging themselves everywhere, from the sheer rock walls of Yosemite to fifty-foot waves in the Pacific Northwest.
———————–
BARK UNTIL HEARD: Among the Silenced Dogs, I Found My Voice
by Becky Monroe
4 paws
Bark Until Heard is a true story about an animal welfare activist and writer from suburban Illinois, who discovers a passion and a purpose while on assignment. Monroe finds herself in an Amish barn at a puppy mill auction, where overcome with the brutal reality of mill dogs, she purchases Thorp, a dirty, frightened and withdrawn dog. Faced with his sad reality and the horrific circumstances of a hundred others, Monroe is unable to erase the memory of that fateful day. She stands up to fight for the dogs forced to live lives of neglect and confinement.
While the beginning of the book seems repetitive, (Monroe can’t stop telling us how traumatic the auction was for her), by the second half she has settled into a clarity of mind where she is able to recount her rescue efforts and those of other Mill Activists, spreading a message of urgency and compassion.
- Paperback: 310 pages
- Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 24, 2015)
- ISBN-10: 1507841248
Becky Monroe is a writer and animal-welfare advocate. She has been published in numerous animal-welfare publications and seeks to expose the truth to improve the lives of domestic animals. She lives in Woodstock, IL with her husband and daughter and a changing array of homeless animals.
Up on the Woof 