The Journey: Reflections on Life, Illness, and Death

First diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2001 and later with Hep-C, award-winning author Brian A. Hopkins started writing about the experience immediately, sharing his story online in personal, often humorous, and frequently poignant episodes, many of which were penned by his miniature Schnauzer, Gator. This is the compilation of that 20+ year journey, a unique journal that ventures beyond one man's struggles with illness and the entity his dog labeled "The Great Recycler" to illustrate the bond between human and canine and the inevitable conclusion all such relationships must endure. It's the true story of two friends supporting each other "through chemo and interferon-induced depression and all the grey days of human existence." Hopkins says, "I’m no superhero, but Gator always was ... If you walk away with nothing else from this book, you’ll know the absolute nobility of her breed, and through her words, I hope you’ll come to love her, just as I did, just as all my friends on Facebook did. There was rarely a day she wasn’t in their newsfeeds. For a great many of them, it felt like she was their dawg too."

Brian is a four-time winner of the coveted Bram Stoker Award for excellence in horror literature. He’s also been nominated for the International Horror Guild Award, the Nebula Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His books include These I Know By Heart, Salt Water Tears, Phoenix, Road's End, Escape Velocities, and others.