When Dogs Heal: Powerful Stories of People Living with HIV and the Dogs That Saved Them - Softcover

Freidin, Jesse; Garofalo, Christina; Garofalo, Robert; Stafford, Zach

Softcover

ISBN 10: 154158676X ISBN 13: 9781541586765

Publisher: Zest Books ™, 2021

Synopsis

The best medicine may not always be found at a pharmacy or in a doctor’s office. Sometimes it comes in the form of a four-legged friend.

Three well-known leaders in their fields―award-winning dog photographer Jesse Freidin, adolescent HIV+ specialist Dr. Robert Garofalo, and LGBTQ advocate and journalist Zach Stafford―offer a refreshing, beautiful, and unique portrait of HIV infused with a deep message of hope. Each extraordinary profile shows the power of the incredible bonds between humans and their canine companions, whether that means combating loneliness and stigma, discovering the importance of unconditional love, overcoming addiction, or simply having a best friend in a time of need.

When Dogs Heal shares the stories of a diverse set of people who are thriving and celebrating life thanks to the compassion and unconditional love of their dogs.

A portion of the proceeds from this book benefits Fred Says, an organization dedicated to financially supporting HIV+ teen health care.

About this title

About the Authors

Jesse Freidin is a fine-art dog photographer whose dog portraits are in private collections throughout the United States and have been exhibited in galleries from coast to coast. He's based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Christina Garofalo is an L.A.-based TV writer and journalist. She's covered travel, food, and culture for more than a dozen publications, including Afar, Huffington Post, Jetsetter, Paste, Resident, Robb Report, and ShermansTravel. Previously, she's served as an editor for ShermansTravel, Robb Report, and Gilt.com. Christina is also the voice of Fred Says on social media.

Robert Garofalo is a professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University and physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. He is founder of Fred Says, a non-profit charity that supports HIV+ youth

Zach Stafford is an award-winning journalist who currently serves as editor-at-large of BuzzFeed and co-host of the daily news podcast News O'Clock. Zach regularly provides commentary on television and has appeared on the BBC, CNN and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He's based in New York City.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up-This book shares portraits and personal experiences of people who are HIV-positive. Each color photo of the individual and their dog is accompanied by a brief section of text. The text spotlights compelling subjects such as Amador, a Latinx man who decided to keep living because his dog Bella needed him to care for her. Amador expresses that he wants to help people in the Latinx community who struggle with the lack of support and education concerning HIV. Lynnea, a Black woman who learned of her positive status at age seven, discovered how to expect more from her relationships and leave her abusive partner by becoming the owner of a dog named Coconut. The wide range of people and stories depict themes of loneliness, addiction, shame, and isolation; each entry shows how having an animal to care for teaches someone the fundamentals of self-care and self-respect. Back matter includes a list of resources but does not include a glossary. VERDICT A unique collection that is unflinchingly honest and infused with hope. These valuable lessons of empathy, self-care, and acceptance will inspire all readers and will be especially encouraging for young people who are living with HIV.-Aaren Tucker, Univ. of Illinoisα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zest Books ™
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 154158676X
• ISBN 13: 9781541586765
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 152