Meredith May

A gem of a story about a young girl going through a traumatic experience and a difficult parental relationship and finding love and sweetness through bees and a fantastic step grandfather. I occasionally found myself distracted by things like …. A five year old was analyzing all this behavior so deeply and remembers it so well. Then I realized memory is like that, we project later thoughts and reactions into our past.All in all… a great reader for bee lovers and survivors of traumatic hildhoofs as well as the general populace… (más)

It's a memoir type of story but was occasionally very, very hard to read. The author impulsively buys Edie, a golden retriever puppy, from a breeder. So many animals need loving homes; I am always saddened when someone chooses to buy a pet from a breeder. Okay....soap box safely put away! To make the situation even worse, the author's expectations were way, way, way over the poor puppies' capabilities. She expects Edie to be just like her two previous golden retrievers. Baby dogs are no different than baby people...each is different. I don’t understand how someone can claim to be a dog person and not understand that. Each dog is an individual with their own needs and preferences. When Edie turns out to be highly sensitive with special needs related to her anxiety, the author describes her as “broken.” I almost stopped listening at this point as it didn't seem that it was going to be good for that poor little puppy. She and her wife soon get frustrated at their inability to “fix” this sweet little girl, they actually discuss giving her up or...heaven forbid...having her euthanized. On the plus side, and I was glad to see there was a plus side... the author shares her story in an honest and compelling way, including how she and her wife were both traumatized as children, and how that trauma may be affecting their relationship with each other and with Edie. The author keeps trying to help Edie and eventually finds a team of people who can assist her. They learn to understand and trust each other. That journey is an interesting as well as a touching story.… (más)