Isabel Klee’s debut memoir parallels fostering rescue dogs with dating in your 20s

📚🐕 A charming, messy life… with dogs. That’s exactly what American author Isabel Klee’s memoir, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About, is about. The book details the dogs she fostered and her own search for love and belonging in the bustling metropolis of New York. As you’d expect from a book about dogs, it shot straight to the bestseller list upon release, and Universal Studio Group has already bought the rights to adapt it as a series.

What to expect: Klee moved to New York in her 20s, leaving her upstate university behind for a basement apartment in Manhattan. A lifelong dog lover, her first job was as a dog photographer’s assistant before discovering her real calling: rehabilitating rescued dogs and finding them permanent homes, starting with Simon, the puppy she saved from the dog meat trade and her first real love.

The book runs on two parallel tracks: the dogs Klee fosters, and the friendships, parties, and upheavals that shaped that period of her life. It draws a parallel between caring for a dog and navigating dating in your 20s — both require patience, a high tolerance for failure, and knowing when to hold on and when to let go.

What we liked: Klee expertly relates two disparate stories: her first foster and her first love, and she does it brilliantly. We also appreciated the unglamorous details shared honestly, such as those pertaining to the realities of rescue work, far from the romanticized image of a person and their beloved pet.

Our verdict: This is a warm, unpretentious memoir that runs a little under 300 pages and doesn’t quite fit the usual mold of the genre, positively speaking. Klee knew exactly what she was writing and who she was writing it for. We found ourselves genuinely moved at certain moments of loss and genuinely happy at the moments when a frightened animal finally let its guard down and trusted someone after weeks of fear. If you’re looking for something light, with simple prose that still lands emotionally, this is it.

WHERE TO GET IT- The paperback is available through Diwan, and you can find the e-book on Amazon.