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Pizza Dog Annie’s Guide to Wellness
Pizza Dog Annie’s Guide to Wellness, by Alex Charns, is a warm, candid blend of memoir, humor, and practical guidance. Narrated by Annie, a German shepherd and husky mix, the book follows Charns’s recovery after hospitalization for major depression with psychotic features. Annie’s lively perspective makes difficult subjects approachable while establishing the bond between dog and owner as the book’s emotional center. Her declaration, “I rescued Alex and the whole family,” neatly captures the reversal on which the narrative is built.
Across twenty-six compact chapters, Charns presents wellness as a collection of mutually reinforcing habits. Walking, medication, talk therapy, meditation, sleep, faith, friendship, reading, volunteer work, political participation, and gratitude all contribute to a balanced life. The book’s structure reflects this philosophy, moving briskly among personal memories, observations, photographs, and Annie’s comic complaints. Her demands for walks, games of fetch, and generous portions of dog treats give the narrative an appealing rhythm and keep its advice grounded in daily experience.
The book gains depth from Charns’s account of intergenerational trauma. His mother’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland, her later struggles with post-traumatic stress, and his own early encounters with Holocaust history illuminate the fears that shaped his family. Charns writes with particular honesty about psychosis, suicidal thoughts, sleep deprivation, and the stigma surrounding psychiatric hospitalization. The chapters on treatment and family support are direct and humane, presenting recovery as sustained work supported by professional care, meaningful routines, and personal relationships.
Annie’s humor gives the book its distinctive personality, but its strongest quality is the sincerity beneath the jokes. Charns’s affection for his dog becomes a way of expressing gratitude for the people, practices, and communities that helped restore his health. When Annie defines canine devotion by saying, “That is the power of the dog. Love. Love. And more love,” the line also summarizes the book’s central conviction. Concise, intimate, and encouraging, Pizza Dog Annie’s Guide to Wellness offers an accessible portrait of recovery rooted in companionship, purposeful activity, and care.
Pages: 78 | ASIN : B0H699ML1N
From Rollercoasters to Carousels: An Emotional Support Guide to Healing for NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs Parents
Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez’s From Rollercoasters to Carousels is a raw and heartfelt guide for parents navigating the emotional wreckage that comes with the NICU, bereavement, or special needs parenting journeys. Woven with deeply personal stories, interviews with global parents, and trauma-informed strategies, this book serves not only as a memoir but also as a workbook for healing. The author blends her lived experience, marked by multiple pregnancy losses, a premature birth, and a child with special needs, with her professional expertise as a trauma-informed coach. Each section zeroes in on a different emotion, offering reflection, exploration, and action steps to help readers process their pain and move toward emotional wellness.
The writing is unflinchingly honest, sometimes painfully so, but never without compassion. I was floored by how Khonyongwa-Fernandez balances sorrow and strength. She doesn’t try to fix grief with empty platitudes. Instead, she invites you into it, guides you through it, and reminds you gently that you’re not alone. Her writing feels both therapeutic and practical, a rare mix that makes this book stand out.
Her take on compartmentalization, masking, and the long shadow of trauma resonated deeply with me. The structure of the book, with its carousel metaphor and non-linear format, mirrors the emotional chaos it seeks to calm. That structure felt freeing. You don’t have to start at page one and march forward. You can dip into grief, or guilt, or overwhelm, wherever you are, and find something that feels like a breath of air after holding it in too long.
This book is a must-read for parents who have been touched by medical trauma, loss, or the complexities of raising a child with special needs. But honestly, it’s for anyone who’s ever had life collapse under them and needed help putting one emotional foot in front of the other. If you’re looking for warmth, honesty, and a sense that healing is possible, then this book is exactly what you need.
Pages: 226 | ASIN : B0DPG9B74K
