What a moving and insightful novel. This is the type of book that you savor....re-reading sections, sentences to fully digest the thought. A friend has experience working with traumatic brain injuries and is going to recommend it to her group.

A beautifully written story of loss and survival. Anyone who loves someone and who also loves dogs will understand and be heartened by this book.

A friend handed me this book while I was visiting her home...someone had given it to her. She wasn't interested because she thought it was about dogs. I did too. I would not have read it had I known that it's not a dog book. I'm so glad I didn't know its topic, because I would have missed out on a deeply emotional account of the author's experience of her husband's TBI. A very fast read. Poignant, courageous, thought provoking.

I read an excerpt of this book in O Magazine and was intrigued, so I ordered the free sample for my Kindle - was intrigued some more - and finally ended up buying the full Kindle edition. I'm almost done reading it, and I think this may be the first book I've read as a Kindle book that I also want to purchase in hard-copy form - just to HAVE. This is a keeper, a book I will remember long after putting it down. Where has Abagail Thomas been hiding and why is this my first introduction to her?!

This is a tough topic - the traumatic brain injury her husband sustains and the author's adjustment to life after that event - yet Thomas handles it without unnecessary self-pity or pathos. I've read books of a similar vein that are gut-wrenching to read, others that are so lofty and inspiring they depress me - how can I ever measure up to such perfect humanity as expressed in those books. Thomas's book is the perfect treatment of this very difficult chapter of her life. She is able to speak the very emotions and mixed feelings and mixed up thoughts that any one would experience in that situation - I find myself reading and thinking YES, this is exactly how I would feel, it's exactly how conflicted and guilty and torn I would feel.

I think I will be taking this book off my shelf many times over the years to re-read. Sitting down with this book feels like sitting down with the author for a long talk over coffee. A very difficult talk, granted, but it reads as one of those memorably discussions you had with a good friend at the end of a very difficult period.

I look forward to finding other Abagail Thomas books.

Life is not perfect. Tragedy can strike at any minute. How do you handle it when it happens to you? Thomas faces her tragedy with grace and poise. After her husband is injured in a horrific accident, Thomas begins the seemingly unending cycle of hospitals, doctors, and emergency calls. Eventually, Thomas realizes that, while Rich's life may remain in a state of limbo, her life must go on. She manages to find a balance between the wife she continues to be, and the woman who must now find meaning in her life -- on her own terms. She finds comfort with friends, family, and above all else her dogs. This is truly a story of love, loss, and ultimately - healing.

I applaud Thomas for her ability to stand by her husband under such devastating circumstances. Her memoir is honest and thought provoking -- sharing her feelings of fear, self-reproach, and even happiness. Her love for Rich is evident in her writing. A Three Dog Life is a true love story and a joy to read.

Change is something most people loathe, because that which is familiar is more comfortable. Author Abigail Thomas learns to live with change following an auto-pedestrian accident involving her husband Rich which has a tremendous impact on her life. Rich miraculously survives the accident, but his thinking is modified. He no longer retains the past or carries the future. His thoughts and life are only in the present tense. Thomas realizes she cannot care for him alone due to his permanent brain trauma and he becomes a resident of a care facility. This requires Thomas to move from their New York condo to a home close by the facility. Despite the pathos, the book is filled with incredible humor. Conversations with Rich are often laced with poetic foolishness bordering on E.S.P. Thomas' descriptions of her coping mechanisms are spot-on with respect to surviving as a weekend caretaker in the midst of loss. She takes a cue from the arctic nomads who say the coldest night is a "three-dog night," and titles the book "Three Dog Life" because naps and snuggles with her three dogs provide great solace and comfort.

I'm always looking for a new "dog book" of quality. Well, this wasn't exactly just a dog book. It is, however, one of the best memoirs I have read in some time. Some may be put off by the somewhat jumbled chronology of this book, but I think it works perfectly to project the fragmented state of mind of Thomas as she struggled for more than five years to cope with what her husband's tragic accident had done to their once-comfortable life. Thomas has the extremely rare talent of being able to make you nearly cry and then laugh out loud, sometimes on the same page. This is an extremely well-crafted and utterly human piece of writing. And, by the way, it's a good "dog book" too. - Tim Bazzett, author of Love, War & Polio (RatholeBooks.com), and current practitioner of A Two Dog Life

Others here have described in-depth the storyline of this bitter-sweet love story. I'll just note how refreshing it was to read about a marital topic other than infidelity.

One of the few rock concerts I attended in my youth featured the group, Three Dog Night, so the apt title needed no explanation. Among the thousand or so books in my personal library, this memoir, a THREE DOG LIFE, sits on my short shelf for will-read-again-and-again.

Abigal Thomas has painted with lyrical prose an honest portrait of a bruised, yet vibrant, marriage, highlighting the often-hidden joys of long-term true love in a flawed world.

If you like memoirs you will love this one. I certainly did. The author's style makes very real the feelings she is sharing. Her observations of her life , it's unexpected turn, and her honest reactions to that are not sentimental, rather one's the reader can truly identify with. She alows herself to be honest and vulnerable.

Abigal Thomas has a beautiful way of writing that will make you laugh and cry. She is brutally honest about all of the emotions she felt during a difficult and tragic time in her life. I plan to read all of her books.

A Three Dog Life derives its title from the Australian aborigines who slept with their dogs for warmth; the coldest nights being "three dog nights". Abigail's husband's traumatic brain injury places her in the most difficult time of her life. The warmth and love from her three beloved dogs comfort her, hence her three dog life. This new life is one that she has to build on her own; different from any life she has lived before. Abigail navigates the unchartered waters of dealing with a husband in a nursing home, the guilt, sadness and welcomed freedom of living alone, and embarking on a new life journey with such perceptive insight that it simply took my breath away.

Thomas' writing is sparse, plain, artful and so insightful that I feel that I could read anything about her or her life so long as she wrote it. Her self-awareness and ability to describe her thoughts and feelings is nothing short of brilliant. Most amazing is how she recounts her husband's newly acquired astuteness and his uncanny ability to hone in on exactly what she is thinking or exactly what is going on in her life without any way for him to obtain actual knowledge of these things. Rich's newfound ability is an unexplainable miracle.

Reading this book changed the way that I view those suffering brain damage from a traumatic injury. I no longer see them as less than whole; they are just different - altered- sometimes these changes bring about gifts not previously possessed. Rich's random comments show a gifted ability to describe his condition and a keen sense of self-awareness. Though his short-term memory loss may cause his inability to remember where he is or what he did five minutes ago, he is able to describe how he feels by saying, "I don't know who I am. Pretend you are walking up the street with your friend. You are looking in windows. But right behind you is a man with a huge roller filled with white paint and he is painting over everywhere you have been, erasing everything. He erased your friend. You don't even remember his name."

This book is a gift to everyone who reads it. I will treasure it always and recommend it to everyone I know.

Somewhere in my memory is an NPR "Driveway Moment" when I first heard Abigal Thomas speak about this book. I had meant to write the title down when I got into the house but failed to do so at the time. Then I read about another of her books called "Safekeeping" and when I went to look for it at the library, I found this one listed instead. And that "Driveway Moment" came back to me.
And I am very glad that it did.
This is the first book in months that I have read from cover to cover in nearly one sitting. Although listed as a memoir, it is more of a collection of related essays. The pivotal subject is a severe brain injury suffered by her husband which then becomes the defining event of the second half of her life. This would make it sound a little maudlin on the surface. But maudlin it is not. But it is moving, honest and joy-filled.
Finally, it is the sort of book that you then drive your friends crazy about by having to tell them all about it. Give it a try. It improved my week and it should do the same for you

Rich Rogin was walking the family dog late one night in his Manhattan neighborhood when he was struck by a car and nearly killed; the accident report said, "dead, or likely to die." Although he didn't die, he suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI, to those unlucky enough to be on familiar terms with this sad condition).

Abigail Thomas gives us a tender little book about life with her husband after the accident wiped out his past and his future, leaving him only a jumbled present. Rich was not able to live at home and Abigail moved upstate to be near the facility where he lived, bringing him home for a visit every week. She filled her days with writing, knitting, and napping with her three dogs.

While the facts of the story are painfully sad, Abigail infuses her writing with loving accommodations of Rich's diminished condition. Of her visits, so often made difficult by his inability to fix himself in the real world: "During the days when it is impossible to communicate in words, I get into his bed and we hold hands. Nap therapy. This is a familiar posture, something we can do without speech, without thinking." Rich's reality becomes her reality on the days when she can't penetrate his confused world.

Abigail's enjoyment of her dogs is threaded through the book. Like her husband, they force her to live in the present. "Dogs are never in a bad mood over something you said at breakfast," she writes. "Dogs never sniff at the husks of old conversations, or conduct autopsies on weekends gone wrong. An unexamined life may not be worth living, but the overexamined life is hell. We talk too much."

Although "A Three Dog Life" is labeled a memoir, it's not laid out in the linear fashion of most memoirs -- more like a collection of essays presented in random order. For me this presentation left a lack of closure with several of her themes. I realize that it was a deliberate choice by the author but for me it was the one blemish on an otherwise magical reading experience. Do read it for yourself, in one sitting if you can. You'll find it a much happier book than it sounds.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I loved this book. I read it at a time when I needed to nurture and take care of myself --- I had just lost my mom. This story made me laugh, cry, and think. It's a great read--- especially when you need to take a nap with your furry companions!

This is a beautifully written memoir. Don't expect a typical "dog story" -- the dogs are a very minor part of this book, but it is a very moving series of thoughts on how to deal with loss.

As a rule, one of the best reading experiences is when I am able to get inside the author's head, or the author gets into mine, or both, one at a time or simultaneously.

Consider the amoeba. Amoebas get together once in a while to exchange cellular material, which, it is said, makes them more robust. That pretty much sums up a great book experience for me, and that's what happened when I read A THREE DOG LIFE. Along with allowing me to revisit the sights and smells of my beloved New York, Abigail Thomas shared her thoughts and feelings about things I have experienced and things I thought too improbable for anyone to experience, touching my head and my heart.

My favorite parts were about Outsider Art and about how she became a writer.

I was so sorry when the book ended, and I'm going to find a way to read her other works.

As a rule, one of the best reading experiences is when I get inside someon's head, or someone gets into mine, or both, one at a time or simultaneously.

Consider the amoeba. Amoebas get together once in a while to exchange cellular material, which, it is said, makes them more robust. That pretty much sums up a great book experience for me, and that's what happened when I read A THREE DOG LIFE. Along with allowing me to revisit the sights and smells of my beloved New York, Abigail Thomas shared her thoughts and feelings about things I have experienced and things I thought too improbable for anyone to experience, touching my head and my heart.

My favorite parts were about Outsider Art and about how she became a writer.

I was so sorry when the book ended, and I'm going to find a way to read her other works.

Excellent memoir. The author really put her heart out to the readers. It's amazing how our canine pets can touch our lives. I have four dogs myself. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a heart and a dog.

This was a real story told in a real voice. I enjoyed it immensely.

Coping her with husband's long-term brain injury, Abigail Thomas nevertheless writes a memoir that is full of acceptance, appreciation and even, a kind of hope. I recommend this book to anyone, but in particular to late-blooming writers (she began in her late 40s).

While on a walk with their dog one night, Abigail Thomas's husband was hit by a car. He survived the accident, but it left him with memory loss, hallucinations, and wild rages so severe that he had to be institutionalized. This tragedy would destroy most relationships. But Thomas did not abandon her husband. Instead, she sold her apartment and moved to be closer to him. Then she got two more dogs to keep her company. The title of this inspirational book of essays about the couple's experiences comes from an aboriginal phrase that describes the practice of cuddling with dogs on a frigid night. If it was a particularly cold night, it would take 3 dogs to keep you warm. Reading this book will warm your heart.

This is a wonderful book: literary, poignant, revealing. It paints a portrait of the author and her husband, and the effect of his brain injury on himself and their marriage. Abigail Thomas can get a bit wordy but she carries the reader along with her thoughts, emotions and situation so that the book is over before you know it.

This is an excellent book to read after Bob and Lee Woodruff's IN AN INSTANT, where Bob's injury follows a very different trajectory.

Despite the title, this is not really a dog book but it is an excellent read for dog lovers and anyone else.

I bought this book in the airport after a day of delayed and rebooked flights. Already frustrated, I was looking for something that would distract me and make the day go by a little faster... I found this book and was immediately intrigued. Abigail Thomas' writing makes you feel like she is a dear friend. You will go through feelings of grief, sadness, indifference, contentment, and happiness just as you would if she sat next to you and told you her story in person. This book is very insightful and was a joy to read. By the time my flight landed, I was wishing I had another hour to finish this wonderful book, so as soon as I got home I sat down and read straight to the end. Although it appears as if it may be sad and depressing, this book actually makes you feel hopeful and knowledgeable that while the future may hold unexpected turns, life goes on, and one can find happiness even in a time of tragedy.

I lovd this book - the author's honesty really comes through. It made me laugh out loud and come very close to tears. I loved it so much that I want to share it with my mom and sisters, but I can't bring myself to lend them my copy. So they'll each be getting a copy for Christmas!

Author's husband Rich Rogin suffers a permanent brain injury after being hit by a car trying to rescue their dog. The book puts the reader in her mind as she details how she lives her life with her new "institutionalized" husband while living with their old memories. Her memoir is beautifully written...austere and direct like Cormac McCarthy (The Road)...engaging like Richard Power's fantastic book The Echo Maker (also about brain injury) and far less stuffy, less "blue-blooded" and less pompous than "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion.

I didn't mean to read this book. Listening to the author at a local book festival I was impressed by her quiet strength, realizing that this was now part of her tragedy, this regular retelling of still-fresh pain to strangers. I went home with an autographed copy.

I had thought this book would be too depressing, but I was wrong. From the beginning, the reader knows the love the author has for her husband and the meaning he gives her life even after the accident. The mind of her husband is like a work of surrealism with moments of reality mixed with intense insights and otherworldness. He is fascinating and delightful despite bouts of anger and confusion. The writing meanders from past to present, from one subject to another, yet there is somehow a feeling of connectedness, and it is like listening to a good friend ramble thoughtfully.

Yes, dogs are involved in this book, but they are not the main characters. The title is a play on an Aboriginal saying that the coldest of nights are "three dog nights," an apt description for this part of the author's life. Her three dogs are her comfort and give a sense of stability and normalcy to life in a house that is missing someone.

"A Three Dog Life" is a quietly beautiful and introspective look at surviving tragedy, an open and honest conversation of love and acceptance and inner strength mixed with smiles and a little laughter. I thank Ms. Thomas for sharing her life with strangers.

Although the book is billed as a memoir, it's more of a collection of linked essays about Thomas's husband, her three dogs, and life and love lost. It's depressing, but will resonate with readers who have elder care issues of their own.

The writing is simple yet Thomas accomplishes everything she needs to in these 208 pages--fans of minimalist writers such as Amy Hemple will enjoy this book. It may not be the "best memoir" ever written as Stephen King's blurb states, but it is a very, very good essay collection.

as a person who has worked w/ people with brain injuries, i felt this book needed to be written by the ones that stay. alot of people leave when the going gets rough and the strong stay and live to tell a tale of anguished pride, devoted anger and compicated understanding

Memoirs seem to be a dime a dozen in our "all about me" world, but the truth is that writing a good one is a tricky business. Too often, after reading contemporary me-books, I just want to tell the writer to get over himself. But Thomas got it right with this wonderful book. Reading it was like getting to know a new friend. The writing is conversational, rather than linear -- you learn about her, her beloved but brain damaged husband, and her treasured dogs, in almost equal measure. By the end, the reader feels that she knows this very likable woman, and understands why she is who she is. And isn't that the point of a memoir?

I would especially recommend this book for anyone who is losing or has lost a spouse or partner. Thomas writes about the guilt that a surviving spouse feels when she finds herself growing, and even thriving, after her husband is incapacitated. She writes about the importance of friendship -- human and canine -- and the necessity of living up to your own values. Because in the end we wake up every day with ourselves.

Read this book!

This small book evokes so many different emotions for me. At first, I thought it would be too painful to read, too raw. However, it captured my heart and I wanted to read it. It is lyrical in its prose and I so very much enjoyed the phrases and words that this author chose to describe her life. It is utterly heartbreaking at times and yet so life-affirming, powerful and so true. I loved this book. I am so sorry the author had to experience this painful, horrifying, life-changing event but it has most certainly brought forth a beautiful book. I cannot recommend this book enough. It may be small but it is gloriously mighty in emotion and thought.

What would you do if the one person you loved most in this world were in an accident? What if it were a terrible accident, one from which your beloved would never fully rise? Most of us have no idea of how to even begin thinking about such an experience.

In A Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas lifts the veil on this heart-rending trauma. The book opens as her husband Rich, while out walking the dog, is hit by a car. He sustains a permanent brain injury that leaves him with little short-term memory and in need of twenty-four hour care.

Never sentimental, yet so transparent, Thomas allows the whisperings of her heart to tumble onto the pages of this captivating memoir. Remarkably, she permits her inmost thoughts to find their way into words without censorship. Raw, powerful emotions course through a memoir that is at once about a lost love and at the same time about a newfound love. Thomas' writing is so provocatively honest that it resonates deep within every reader who has survived love and loss.

Through her writing, Thomas lets the reader experience the loneliness and uncertainty of waking to a life that is totally unfamiliar. Her memoir deals with questions of control, memory, meaning and language. With regard to language, you are sure to be delighted by Thomas' vivid imagination and beautiful use of language. When, on the sixth page, Thomas writes, "I watch the dogs, one tiny dachshund so skinny he looks like a single stroke of calligraphy," the reader realizes that this will be an engaging book.

Who will be interested in this memoir? Certainly any of us grieving a loss, but also any of us longing for more meaningful living. It is a wisdom born of suffering that allows Thomas to teach us: "still, how great to be enjoying the ride, however uncertain the outcome...It's what we're all doing anyway, we just don't know it."

Armchair Interviews says: Emotional messages about loss.

I felt cheated because I thought there would be some material about dogs, because dogs are in the title, and it is sold as a pet book. But in fact the author has no insight into the life of her dogs. She does not explore anything about them and doesn't mention that she must have a bond with them. Many people learn through tragedy how comforting dogs can be, how life affirming and how to live in the present, but this author never mentions anything like that. It is really a memoir about living with a husband with a brain injury. It is a sweet memoir. But don't look here for anything interesting about dogs. Every time she had a sentence about dogs, I got excited thinking it was going to go somewhere, to a speculation or philosophy, but it never does. Dogs are really just objects to her.

Abigail Thomas gives a moving and raw account of her life with her husband after his tragic accident. She must say goodbye to the man she married and learn to adapt to this new person. Her journey is touching and relevant for all of us who have lost someone or something in our lives. One particular line in the book touched me personally. As she put it, she learned to accept this change in her life and "weave" it into her new life. A very moving book.

A liked Abigail Thomas's book "Safekeeping" and had to read her memoir. I like Abigail's comfortable style..I feel like I am with a friend when I read her essays--and this memoir.

I read this entire book today. I remembered that I had it, picked it up, and just couldn't put it down. Abigail's husband goes out to walk the dog and is struck but a car while trying to retrieve the dog that bolted into traffic. Rich suffers permanent brain damage and this book honestly and truthfully recounts Abigail's life for the five years following the accident.

Abigail's writing made me feel everything that she felt. Her guilt, her frustration, her coming to terms with the situation. She is a brave woman, and her words will stay with me for a long time.

The title refers to her three furry children that are her constant comforting companions.

Highly recommended

I really liked this book, but as others have said, don't expect it to have much in it about dogs. But just because she has "dogs" in the title, why do we expect it to have this content? Someone can name their book anything they want, I guess we should check it out before we buy it. How much about lambs did we expect in "Silence of the Lambs?"