Today I have author Barbara Lampert on the blog discussing her memoir, Charlie: A Love Story.
How does your book compare to other pet memoirs out
there? Why would I pick up yours over any other?
Before I answer your questions, I want to thank you so much
for having me on your site. I love having the opportunity to connect with more
people and let them know about Charlie and his story. And may I also preface my
answer by letting you know that I love all dogs tremendously and have throughout
my life. They’re my passion! A reason you might choose my dog memoir, Charlie: A Love Story, over others is
that it is in part the culmination of all that love and in my mind, as I said
in the dedication to my book, is a tribute not only to Charlie but also to all
dogs.
I strongly believe that Charlie:
A Love Story, about my extraordinary Golden Retriever Charlie, is very
different from all the other dog memoirs I’ve read or seen. And that’s been a
lot of them. Dog memoirs are of great interest to me, not just because I wrote
one but because of how much I love dogs and love reading stories about them.
While I believe there are a number of ways in which my book
is set apart from other pet memoirs, there’s one way that particularly stands
out in my mind: I don’t know of another dog memoir that’s been written by a
psychotherapist who actually specializes in relationships, which in fact is who
I am and what I’ve been licensed to do. From counseling people for more than
twenty years, I know what makes for a good relationship, and I tell Charlie’s
story from that perspective. Charlie and I had a great relationship, with so
much reciprocity and empathy for one another. Hopefully people will be
encouraged, after reading Charlie: A Love
Story, to feel ok about having deeply meaningful relationships not only
with their dogs but also with any other pets. Much to my delight, my readers often
tell me that’s what has happened for them.
There are a number of other ways in which my book is
different from other pet memoirs and why you might pick up my book Charlie: A Love Story instead of another
dog memoir.
If you want a dog memoir where the story is mostly about the
dog, then my book is for you. It’s first and foremost Charlie’s story. There’s
not much about me or my husband or any one else. There are a number of
anecdotes, but those are mostly about Charlie’s younger days, with only a few
anecdotes about his pack members and one about a vacation we all take. There
are no ongoing side stories about me or anyone else, except for background
descriptions of my garden and gardening activities, because Charlie’s story
evolved out of my gardening journal. I like what Alan Caruba, a book reviewer
from Bookviews, had to say about Charlie :A Love Story: “It is a great
relief to read a memoir that does not involve some kind of confession regarding
the numerous ways people find to screw up their lives.” I tell Charlie’s story the
way I think Charlie would want it to be told, always giving him the respect his
nobility deserves.
That Charlie’s story came out of my gardening journal is
another unique aspect that differentiates my book from other dog memoirs.
Surrounding Charlie’s story are various references not only to my garden and to
gardening activities but also to the lessons to be found in caring for a garden
and to the miracle of growth and beauty that are very much a part of the
gardening experience. That miracle provides a contrasting background for
Charlie’s later years. My garden and gardening activities together make for a
very interesting, beautiful, and unusual juxtaposition to the telling of Charlie’s
story, and I’ve received so many positive comments already about this aspect of
my book.
Also, because I did not intend to publish the gardening
journal entries that led to Charlie’s story but instead was writing just for
Charlie and for me, most of that writing is uncensored and very intimate. And Charlie’s
story is told as it was actually happening – I certainly didn’t know what was
coming, which is apparent in the story. In contrast, every dog memoir I’ve ever
read is told after-the-fact.
Anther differentiation of my book from other dog memoirs,
and a reason you might pick it over others is that, while it’s very real, at
the same time it’s told in an often artistic, sometimes dreamlike style. Many
of its sentences are fragments, resulting in a colloquial shorthand, as you might
expect to find in a not-for-publication journal. And surrounding Charlie’s
story with garden images reinforces that mood.
Many people have told me how heartwarming, heartfelt, and
moving my book was for them. Here’s what some of them have said about why you
might choose my pet memoir over others. Vicki Newell, a blogger, wrote, “This
was the most honest, touching book about a relationship with a dog that I’ve
ever read.” I often hear that people have fallen in love with Charlie, and that,
as I said earlier, reading his story was a wonderful experience that helped
them with their lives and in their relationships, particularly with their dogs.
Others have found many messages embedded in Charlie:
A Love Story, for example that it is a blueprint for dealing with life’s
challenges and, as Cyrus Webb of Conversations LIVE! says, that Charlie’s story
is “a true testament of friendship and resilience.” Fran Lewis of Goodreads states: “Charlie has a special
glow, energy, strength that most of us wish we had in times of illness, strife
and stress.” When I hear people talk about Charlie and about what my book has meant
to them, it touches me so much.
So if you want a book that is heartwarming and inspiring,
that relishes dogs, that pays tribute to not only Charlie but every dog there
is or was, that has life lessons embedded in it, then I know Charlie’s story
will meet your expectations and probably then some. And I think you too will
find that my book is very different from other dog memoirs. It’s a story about
an extraordinary dog and an extraordinary relationship, told in a very unusual,
affecting, and compelling way.
Again, thank you! It’s been a pleasure.
Charlie: A Love Story
By: Barbara Lampert
Pub. Date: January 16, 2012
Publisher: Langdon St. Press
Pages: 204
Charlie: A Love Story tells of the beautiful love
between Charlie, a Golden Retriever, and the author, Barbara Lampert. It takes
place in Malibu, California. When Charlie turned eleven years
old and started having some health problems, a journal Barbara was keeping
about her garden quickly became mostly about Charlie.
Charlie: A Love Story is an intimate look at an incredible connection
between a canine and a human. And as a psychotherapist who specializes in
relationships, Barbara brings that sensibility and understanding to Charlie’s
story as well.
Charlie was Barbara’s loyal confidante and best friend. He was indomitable, had
a zest for life and an uncanny emotional intelligence. As Barbara says in her
book:
“Charlie’s a big dog, not just physically but in every way. He has a big heart,
a big smile, lots of courage, a big appetite, and a great, big, generous
spirit. Charlie’s the emotional core of our family, the most solid being I have
ever known, and wise beyond his years. Charlie and me. It’s a great love
affair, a once-in-a-lifetime connection.”
Charlie: A Love Story is about devotion, joy, loss, and renewal, about
never giving up or giving in. But mostly it’s about an extraordinary dog and an
extraordinary relationship.
Barbara Lampert is a Marriage and Family Therapist
specializing in relationships. She’s been in private practice in Brentwood, California
for over twenty years. She considers her work a calling and loves what she
does. She has a doctorate in medical sociology and two master’s degrees – one
in psychology and one in sociology.
Barbara has adored dogs her whole life. They’re her passion! She considers them
the magic on the planet. Barbara has had dogs most of her life and hopes to
have at least one by her side always. She notes that for a lot of people, their
dogs are their best friends. She loves helping people know that’s ok – that a
soul-satisfying relationship may be found with any being and needs to be
treasured.
Besides her love of dogs, Barbara is an avid gardener and finds herself
gardening in much of her spare time. She sees her garden as a work of art. She
loves being in nature – the miracle of growth, the ever-changing landscape, its
beauty.
Today Barbara lives happily in Malibu,
California with her husband David
(married twenty-eight years!) and their six-year-old Golden Retriever, Harry.
Barbara hopes that Charlie: A Love
Story will be a tribute not only to a magnificent dog but to all dogs
everywhere.
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