Dean Koontz thought he had everything he needed. A novelist for nearly forty years, with more than twenty #1 New York Times bestsellers to his credit, his career was thriving. He had been married to his high school sweetheart, Gerda, since the age of twenty, and together they had forged a happy life for themselves in their Southern California home. It was the picture of peace and contentment. Then along came Trixie. Dean had been researching his novel Midnight--a book which includes a service dog named Moose--when he came across Canine Companions for Independence. He was so impressed with the training that the dogs received, and the valuable service they provide to people with disabilities, that he formed a relationship with the organization. Never having had a pet, the last thing he was looking to do was adopt a dog...but that's what happened a few years later when a beautiful golden retriever named Trixie was retired from CCI service because of an elbow injury--and that put her in need of a home of her own. Once in Dean and Gerda's home, Trixie very quickly found a way into their hearts. A Big Little Life tells the story of unexpectedly falling in love with a dog in middle age. It details Trixie's life with Dean and Gerda, the tremendous impact she had on them, and the things she taught them along the way. A lively and joyful read, it presents Trixie in all her complicated glory--her smarts, her lack of vanity, and her uncanny knack for living in the present. But there's sadness here, too. Trixie held a special place in her family's heart, and her passing left a tremendous void. Dean doesn't shy away from that loss, he meets it head-on, with humor, love, and longing. A powerfultribute to a beautiful friend, A Big Little Life will remind readers everywhere that the love of our canine best friends is a love that lasts more than a lifetime.

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Lessons from a golden retriever

Classic suspense and intricate plots are the usual domain of mega-best-selling writer Dean Koontz—a touching story about a beloved dog, not so much. But Koontz’s boundless love for his golden retriever Trixie shines through his latest book, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog. Koontz had always been good at capturing the canine spirit in print, and he did in-person research on guide dogs for one of his books at Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that trains assistance dogs. Koontz and his wife Gerda had spent nearly every moment of 24 years together, childless workaholics who thought they were too busy for a dog. But CCI kept asking if they were ready to adopt one of their course “failures.” Enter Trixie, the force that would change Koontz’s middle age forever.

It’s not every pooch that has the opportunity to rub its Kong toy on a pricey oil painting, or get a dish of Swedish meatballs at a favorite restaurant. Trixie’s down-to-earth joy and antics are the cheerful squeaky toy at the center of this moving story. Part sitcom, part prose portrait, spiritual quest and eulogy, A Big Little Life is a page-turner in its own right—even if every dog lover knows how the plot must play out. “Most of us will never be able to live with as much joy as a dog brings to every moment of his day,” Koontz writes. “But if we recognize that we share a tao, we then see that the dog lives more closely at that core than we do, and the way to achieving greater joy becomes clear. . . . Dogs know.” And so will readers and dog lovers everywhere who bask in the reflected glow of Koontz’s unwavering love for Trixie.