A powerful and heartfelt memoir.

After her mother's sudden death and the end of a passionate relationship brought her close to breakdown, Amanda Brookfield needed something to revive her optimistic spirit. Her two sons had left home and she found herself feeling fragile. She decided that the first step to recovery would be a trip to collect a gorgeous doodle puppy called Mabel.

In this powerful and heartfelt memoir, Amanda takes us along with her on her journey as a new dog owner. Dragged her out of her shell for daily walks by Mabel brings the outside world knocking on her door: conversations with other dog owners brings new friends, and the shift brings with it reflections and a deeper insight into her relationship with her mother as well as other relationships in her life and how she feels about herself. Mabel has helped her take stock of her past, enlivened her present and reawakened her sense of a future. Who could have known that owning a dog would be the path to taking back true ownership of herself?