Girl On A Leash: The Healing Power of Dogs: a Memoir

This book is a compelling account of a Chinese woman's journey from dysfunction to wholeness in the company of extraordinary dogs. Every chapter contains gripping, often witty, anecdotes about a different dog as she moves from Asia to America via Europe, each dog progressively moving her forward in the evolution of her soul. Her leash transmutes from tether into lifeline when she discovers and then shares with others, the great gift of the healing power of dogs. The book by King, who has been rescuing abused or abandoned dogs since her own pet was killed five years ago in the American South, blends tragedy and joy in her personal life with the theme of mutualism between humans and animals. Receiving help, she gives help. Every dog launches analyses of various cultures making us reflect on a number of human-animal issues such as the linkage of human violence and animal abuse, racist realities in all cultures, culture shocks in a Chinese family twice uprooted, and problems of marginality.