Paws and Reflect - Hardcover

Plakcy, Neil S.; Sakson, Sharon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555839576 ISBN 13: 9781555839574

Publisher: Alyson Books, 2006

Synopsis

"For most dog owners, our dogs are not possessions, they are family. Gay men in particular have found joy in bringing dogs into their nuclear circles. Their dogs love them unconditionally, without judgment or regard to sexual orientation; comfort them when they are in pain; and because most men outlive their dogs, teach them extraordinary lessons in how to cope with loss. . . Paws and Reflect is a celebration of all the dogs we have loved in the past, the dogs we love now, and the dogs of our future, who are only waiting for the right moment for us to invite them to join in our lives." -- From the Introduction

Through interviews and with original contributions, Paws and Reflect explores and celebrates the special and powerful bond between twenty-five gay men and their dogs. Interviewees included Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, Cannes award-winning director Jonathon Caouette, Academy Award-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner, actor and playwright Charles Busch and Animal Planet's David Mizejewski, with contributions from authors Jay Quinn, Alistair McCartney and seventeen others.

Praise for Paws and Reflect:

"A guy I dated didn't like my Dachshund. One of them is gone, and it isn't the Dashed. As it happens there are two terrific Dashed essays in this book. Both made me cry and one of them has the best punch line I've come across in a long time. Dink in these real-life stories of dog love and devotion." -- Craig Lucas, Playwright, The Light in the Piazza, Filmmaker, The Dying Gaul.

"Dogs don't care about race, age, appearance, financial standing, employment, sexual orientation or any of those other things that people use -- too often -- to judge one another. Paws and Reflect is an eloquent, moving testament that this unconditional love has helped forma a great emotional and spiritual connection between dogs and their humans that just simply makes our lives healthier and more complete." -- David Frei, Co-host, "The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show," USA Network.

"If you don't enjoy reading about the white Shepherd who protected Charles Busch, or the canine friends who kept the home fires burning for Ron Nyswaner, you are not a real dog lover. I was stunned by the emotions this book shook out of me."-- Sue Simmons, WNBC News Anchor

"Paws and Reflect is filled with surprises that sometimes made me weep and often made me laugh in delight. I adore this book. If you love dogs, don't miss it!" -- Susan Conant, author of Gaits of Heaven, and other novels in the Holly Winter series of Dog Lovers' Mysteries.

About this title

About the Author

Neil S. Plakcy is the author of the gay detective murder mystery series "Mahu" and has been a contributor to several Alyson anthologies. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared widely in the gay and lesbian press. He has taught various English and writing courses as an Adjunct Professor at Florida International University, Nova University and the University of Miami.

Reviews

For those whom society ostracizes, the companionship and unconditional love a dog provides can be of especially great comfort. So it is with gay men, who, according to the editors, "seem to have a gift for the special details of dog parenting," perhaps "because it's difficult for gay men to create a family that includes human children." Bringing together conversations with more than two dozen notable gay men, including playwrights Edward Albee and Charles Busch, film director Jonathan Caouette and writers Victor J. Banis, Ron Nyswaner and Jay Quinn, this anecdotal anthology shows how dogs have given gay men love, confidence and support. Fiction author Plakcy and dog breeder Sakson relate their interviews through first-person narratives, stringing together stories ranging from comic to tragic to sappy. The familiar joys and trials of sharing life with a dog are all here, including stories of comfort and "extraordinary lessons in how to cope with loss." The sincerity and warmth that comes through in each of these stories is infectious, and the inter-species relationships they describe provide unique perspective on the interview subjects as human beings.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1555839576
• ISBN 13: 9781555839574
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304