Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About
A Memoir
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4.5 • 68 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee—known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue—comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman’s search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it.
A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream.
Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.
Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.
In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome—with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions, and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Social media influencer Klee's sweet debut sets her coming-of-age against the backdrop of her experiences fostering dogs. Bookended by Klee's preparation for a TV interview in the summer of 2024, the memoir spans 11 years, beginning with her decision to move to New York City after dropping out of college and traveling around the U.S. In the city, Klee took a job assisting a pet photographer ("I came home from my job interview soaking wet and covered in dog slobber"), which spurred her to interact with animals more often in her downtime. She eventually signed up to foster dogs in her Queens apartment, and charmingly recounts the trials and rewards of each of her charges, including Simon, an epileptic mutt Klee wound up adopting in 2019. Along the way, she recalls opening her heart to a variety of men, friends, and occupations, and shares the wisdom she gleaned from her parade of four-legged companions ("They live unencumbered, unrelenting, and the state of the world doesn't matter"). Throughout, Klee proves an endearing, unfussy guide to growing up. Readers will be charmed.
Customer Reviews
Fabulous. I couldn’t put it down
Kinda like Sex in the City, but with adorable dogs and dog stories. It is definitely a feel good tail. Hee hee
It’s perfect
I laughed, I cried (a lot), and truly couldn’t have fallen more in love with the city I live in and the beauty of the people in it. Isabel is a true gem and I’m honored to even be aware of her existence in this world
Beautiful writing
Isabel is such a poetic writer. She makes you feel every single word she writes and that was my favorite thing about this book. I felt all the emotions she felt.