Post #33 – Women’s Memoirs, Book Raves – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett
Reviewed by Tracy Kauffman Wood
A relationship with a pet, for however long it lasts, can change your life forever. Anyone who has loved and lost one will tell you without regret.
In Monica Holloway’s Cowboy & Wills, we experience the slow and painful steps of her son Wills’s progress as a child diagnosed with high-functioning autism, with the help of a rambunctious, female, golden retriever puppy, which he has named Cowboy. Just as Wills finds social independence and ease, regardless of whether Cowboy is by his side, Cowboy is diagnosed with lupus. Cowboy’s life rapidly slips away, while Wills’s life takes off. Cowboy’s work is done in this world, but of course, it doesn’t make the loss of a loyal, two-year old, larger-than-life, canine, best friend, any easier to accept.
In this mother’s memoir of a formative relationship between her son and his dog, we feel Monica Holloway’s pain and helplessness, her guilt, her fear, and the doubtful and hopeful moments of our own humanity. The most striking paragraph for me was this:
“If only I could freeze-frame them both, just as they were- right then. Wills in his jammies giggling and Cowboy exuberant. There in our fenced-in yard, nothing bad could reach them. They were utterly protected and so happy.”
Here is every parent’s wistful snapshot, a visual capture in words of a perfectly balanced moment before the seesaw of family life once again drops you on your unprepared ass.
Writers of memoir should note the relationship story arc, so familiar — two characters are introduced individually, come together for a time of heightened happiness and gain, then separate forever, each changed by the relationship — yet made unique by Holloway’s humor, timing and emotional tone.
The phone rang. It was Kyle, a new kid in Wills’s class. “The phone’s for you,” I called out for the first time in my life.
“Who is it?” he asked, peeking around the corner of his bedroom, unsure about picking it up.
“Kyle.”
He answered a series of questions on the phone with two-word responses. It was worthy of a ticker-tape parade down Ventura Boulevard – my son was getting calls from his peers!
The next morning, I took Cowboy to Dr. Grier for her second round of chemo.
For any parent or teacher of autistic children, this chronicle of progress and pain will instruct, resonate and inspire. Clearly Monica Holloway’s memoir of energetic and relentless care giving shows us the limitations and possibilities of love and science, and when to let your pets do the walking.
Here are some links to more info about this book:
Cowboy & Wills video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyUJGw7urk
Book Excerpt: http://www.sneakattackninja.com/media/mw/cw_ex_pro/cwprologue.doc
Website: http://www.monicaholloway.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cowboyandwills
Cowboy & Wills/Autism Awareness Facebook App: http://apps.facebook.com/cowboyandwills
Tracy Kauffman Wood is a professional photographer and is currently writing a memoir. You can follow her at: http://www.whocanstopadream.blogspot.com/
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