A Three Dog Life

A Los Angeles Times Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year

A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year

When Abigail Thomas’s husband, Rich, was hit by a car, his brain shattered. Subject to rages, terrors, and hallucinations, he must live the rest of his life in an institution. He has no memory of what he did the hour, the day, the year before. This tragedy is the ground on which Abigail had to build a new life. How she built that life is a story of great courage and great change, of moving to a small country town, of a new family composed of three dogs, knitting, and friendship, of facing down guilt and discovering gratitude. It is also about her relationship with Rich, a man who lives in the eternal present, and the eerie poetry of his often uncanny perceptions. This wise, plainspoken, beautiful book enacts the truth Abigail discovered in the five years since the accident: You might not find meaning in disaster, but you might, with effort, make something useful of it.

“Thomas writes honestly and straight from the heart . . .[and] offers hope that life can retain its richness after tragedy.” —USA Today

“[A] spare, astonishing memoir. A.” —Entertainment Weekly

“This haunting memoir . . . wields enormous impact.” —People

“The startling power and beauty of Abigail Thomas's memoir comes . . . from her refusal to surrender the shards of a loving relationship.” —O, the Oprah Magazine