When Harry Met Minnie: A True Story of Love and Friendship

In this unique memoir of a woman and her bull terrier, the reader will find all of the elements of the most beloved types of stories. Martha Teichner shares a story that will undoubtedly draw in many readers based on her love and respect for dogs, but she will keep readers deeply engaged with her personable and rich storytelling and wealth of experiences she has had in her life, much of it shared with bull terriers. There is obviously a LOT of bull terriers in the story and her love for them is infectious! But the story is about people as much as about dogs, about life as much as it is about death. There is so much to be joyful about and to marvel over in her stories, even the ones about grief and loss. And while this is definitely not a story for those who do not want to feel the entire spectrum of emotions (because if you read this story, you will), the story is told in a masterful way that shows the complexity of loss so that the sadness the reader feels is not the result of cheap or easy shots. There is meaning in everything, intentional or not, and so in this story, death and all of the feelings that come with it are layered in meanings. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story and is in need of a reminder that there is good in this world—related to dogs, of course, but also people. And for those who like to believe that things happen for a reason, this is definitely the book for you! I am not a regular reader of memoirs and would not have read this book if I had not won an ARC, but I am so glad that I did.

Well this book packs quite the emotional punch, at least for me. The story is not very long, only a couple hundred pages or so, but it draws you in quickly and you come to love the dogs, Harry and Minnie, plus the friendship between Martha and Carol (short though it was). I love the details the author added to describe Carol as the eccentrically fun lady with a full life and many friends. It made the ending even more sad as they all came to say goodbye to this wonderful lady. The dog's stories were good too and that is what gave me the hardest time, especially at the end with the goodbye of one of them due to kidney failure. I was reading that at work and had to stop and wait till I got home because that is how I lost my dog and I was a blubbering mess when I finally finished the book. Very well written though I recommend reading it not in public if you are prone to tears with touching dog stories or the loss of a great woman to cancer.

Thank you to Celadon Books for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. When Harry Met Minnie is a well-written and joyful story about how a chance encounter at a New York City farmers market resulted in Martha Teichner meeting a dying woman, Carol Fertig, and adopting her bull terrier Harry. Martha's bull terrier Minnie had been very lonely after the passing of her older bull terrier buddy. Martha had been thinking about finding her a friend for a while. She meets Carol who is dying from cancer which had resulted from exposure to toxic chemicals from the 9/11 attacks. Carol is very worried about what will happen to Harry when she is gone. Because of his health problems and idiosyncrasies, he is not an easy dog to rehome. As she spends time with Carol, so the dogs can meet to assess compatibility, a beautiful friendship results. Martha wishes she had known Carol for years, instead of the short three months they had together. Carol was a talented designer and had a real gift for friendship and bringing people together. This is an thoughtful account of bull terriers and their funny quirks, the human animal bond, friendship and dying with dignity. I admired Carol's ability to keep her sense of humor during the most uncomfortable and painful moments of her illness. When Harry Met Minnie is also a New York and 9/11 story. It is a heartrending and powerful memoir. #whenharrymetminnie #celadonreads #partner @celadonbooks