This was such a sweet and inspiring story. My first thought while reading this book was "Man, this would make an incredible movie." This was so moving and really changed my perspective on things. I love seeing diverse representation of people with disabilities, so that was the first plus. Secondly, a story about a loving companion such as a loyal dog makes any story better.
Beautifully written,l Have Dog, Will Travel is sure to capture the hearts of many readers around the world.

Have Dog, Will Travel is the story of Stephen Kuusisto, who was born blind to parents who taught him to hide his disability. It is also the story of Corky, the smart and spirited guide dog that taught him a better way of being in the world.

In lyrical and tender prose, Kuusisto chronicles his personal journey with blindness – a quest that is both physical and spiritual. He also explores the history of guide dogs and the societal prejudices that can prevent people with disabilities from flourishing.

Full review here: https://bit.ly/2r2kvR5

Have Dog, Will Travel by Stephen Kuusisto is an incredibly touching love song to dogs – not just guide dogs as a means for a person to be enabled, to experience so much more freedom, but simply the ever loving nature of these wonderful creatures and how they can transform a person's life. You will not simply finish this book and walk away. It will lodge itself into the depth of your heart and never let you go.

Stephen Kuusisto should have been declared legally blind as a child – the only reason he wasn't was because his parents thought their child would have a very hard life if he was considered blind. So they told him to hide it, to pretend (it's a common misconception that all blind people don't see at all – a person can be legally blind and see shapes or read text with the page right in their face.) How Stephen managed to live half of his life this way and even teach students remains a mystery to me – nothing short of a miracle. But the real miracle in his life isn't the fact that he spent half of it pretending to be able to see just fine – it's the fact that one day he had enough. And that's when he decided to request a seeing eye dog. And it changed EVERYTHING.

Have Dog, Will Travel is the story of this change. And it's nothing short of amazing. The story goes through the exhillaration of freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of choice, so many freedoms suddenly within Stephen's grasp. But it's not just that. It's also the freedom to love and be loved. The freedom to be allowed to be yourself. To accept yourself. And to learn to find your footing.

This Is Not Just About The Ability To Move Freely
Essentially, Have Dog, Will Travel should show you how much freedom disabled people often lack, and how it can be returned to them. However, Stephen goes farther than saying that a guide dog simply gives one mobility – for him, a guide dog gave him a whole new outlook on life – one based on positivity instead of negativity, what you can do instead of what you can't do, the fact that you can be a 'good boy/girl' for merely being you (a guide dog has to be praised for simply doing his/her job – this kind of reward reinforces the quality of their work) – a fact a lot of disabled people struggle with because they are almost never validated in this society. In truth, society never bothers to validate any of us – and embracing this positivity would do all of us a great service.

Receiving A Guide Dog Gives New Meaning
Receiving a guide dog doesn't just make you mobile. Apparently, receiving one gives you a huge responsibility – you become an ambassador. So it's not just freedom these people are given – they're given a task to always look sharp, to carry meaning, to work in the benefit of the select society they've become part of. Through this respect, a once possibly lonely and abandoned person suddenly becomes important, representative, a part of a bigger goal – give that to any person who can't find their way, literally or figuratively, and you will transform their life. This was one of the miracles of this book for me. As Stephen says, having a guide dog becomes something like training in amateur Buddhism – you always have to pay attention to what you say, how you say it, and stay focused.

Have Dog, Will Travel And Ableism
Stephen also exposes well meaning, but ignorant able-bodied people – how they shower guide dog owners with unwanted and sometimes intrusive attention, how they crave for the people to be special, to present them with something incredible they can do, like every disabled person should really run their own private circus. It's both amusing and sad to read – sad because you feel ashamed for everyone else like you, if you're able-bodied, but it's also very educational – on what NOT to do if you were to meet a person like that.

Then, aside from this, there are also the people who pretend to be disabled to get a better parking spot. Or the people who ruin the reputation of guide dogs by dressing their foul-mannered mutt in a guide dog harness and wrangling their way into 5 star restaurants.

It Also Points You In The Right Direction
What can you do, if you meet someone who is blind? First of all, Stephen say, the blind don't need your pity. They don't need your prayers. Don't be ableist – they just need to be treated as human beings, preferrably – normal human beings. They need to be acknowledged as useful members of society. And yes, they might need some physical help sometimes – but they need it without the nonsense and pity. So if you're going to give help, give it as you would give it to a workmate, a classmate, a peer. Give it how you'd like to receive it yourself. And keep those prayers private.

I thank Simon & Schuster for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.

What an incredible story. The author has gone through tremendously difficult circumstances and yet his outlook is so uplifting. I enjoyed this book as a memoir but also as a dog lover. The bond between Corky and Stephen Kuusisto is not only beautiful but beautifully told. Well-written. Recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such an interesting book about how far society has come to accepting service dogs in our country and how these dogs are trained to be service dogs to the blind.  However, a majority of the books was about the author, Stephen, and his journey to getting a guide dog finally at the age of 38 and the freedom that ensued. Growing up, Stephen's parents told him to pretend that he could see because if adults knew he was blind he would be shamed and treated badly. So for his entire life until is late 30s, Stephen, and english professor, never let on that he was blind.  After being layed off, Stephen decided he wanted to travel but knew he couldn't do it himself.  He applied to get a guide dog.  When accepted, Stephen met his dog, Corky, and they spent 3 weeks training together.  I loved reading about their instant bond and how smart and hardworking guide dogs are.

So Stephen Kuusisto was born blind in one eye and soon lost vision in the other eye.
For 38 years, Stephen pretended he could see. He pretended he was normal. He graduated, went to college, and became a professor, all while pretending he didn't have a disability.
See when he was growing up, people viewed disabilities as a disease. They didn't know how to react or speak to those with disabilities. So he had no choice but to mask his disability.
But once his teaching gig didn't last forever, he decided his life needed a new turn, one that could ultimately change his life for the better.
He was getting a service dog.
He had to go through intensive training in order to get his very own service dog.
In Have Dog, Will Travel, Stephen outlines what was included in his training, as well as the training that the dogs have to go through, starting in their puppy days.
He also talks about the stigma that goes along with blindness. He talks about the stress of putting your life in the hands of a dog, but once that dog becomes your lifelong partner, there is no hesitation. That dog is going to protect you with their life because that is what they are trained to do.

Huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Have Dog, Will Travel!
Even bigger thanks to Stephen Kuusisto for writing this fantastic book that helped me better understand service dogs!

Looking for other books on service dogs?
Try:
The Dog Lover Unit

A wonderful behind-the-scenes look at someone who's life was changed forever by his seeing-eye dog. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about his story.

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley for my honest review.

<i>I was healing from a wounding failure to love my blindness.</i>

The author, Stephen Kuusisto, grew up hiding the fact that he was blind. It was not something easily hidden, but it was more a lack of acknowledgement and accommodation of his disability by his mother. He never knew how to embrace his disability, having been forced to hide it. For the first time at the age of 38, he would finally acknowledge his disability and start his journey to acceptance and independence. His life would change after he chose to get a service dog, who would give him the confidence he needed to find his way in the world.

<i>In the condensed version of guide-dog life, all at once everything is reachable. Reachable is a word sighted people rarely have to think about – but it’s one of the main coordinates of independence. </i>

The book is written in way that you feel you are sitting in a coffee shop with Stephen and he is telling you about his story. It is very honest and real. I learned new ways of thinking about situations, not just involving disabilities, but how to be kind to all people. There are a few stories where Stephen could have easily been angry with those less tolerant of his disability, but he chose to diffuse the situations with kindness; the one thing the author portrayed was patience. He was often in situations where his conversations revolved around his disability, and further questioning about Corky’s role in aiding him. Because of his disability many people have treated him like he was less of a person. Not realizing that Stephen is person, just because he is disabled it doesn’t mean he can’t still think, have opinions and contribute to society.

<i>I was in the dining room at a prestigious arts retreat, in a room where Yoko Ono once ate spaghetti and instead of discussing the arts I was describing light – that blind can often see it, that many see colors. And that those who don’t see anything at all still understand the world richly.</i>

He had a beautiful relationship with Corky, and you learn just how much training and love goes into the process of training both the dogs and those in need of a guide dog. If anything, I learned so much of the training process and that these dogs are professionals and not pets and often need to be treated very differently by outsiders; the books describes the reasons why and Stephen provided many examples of situations he and Corky were in that give perspective to their working relationship.

<i>Many books about service animals suggest they heal wounded people but this is a bit of a misrepresentation. Disabilities never vanish. What a dog can do is entice you back into the world.</i>

Corky gave Stephen confidence. They both relied on each other. Corky was there to help guide Stephen and look out for dangers, but Stephen had to be in the lead. Guide dogs do not choose directions or make decisions, they take the lead from their owner.

Stephen, through his words, is a voice for those who are struggling as he did early on. He is proof that if you open yourself up to love, you will receive love in return. Corky sounds like an amazing dog, thank you for sharing your story.