Following Atticus Book Review
Tom Ryan was living a typical life as a newspaper editor and publisher in a small town in northern Massachusetts when he suddenly became an unexpected owner of a miniature schnauzer. His first attempt at dog ownership ended quickly when the dog passed away. A second story begins when he decides to take another chance on a new dog. Those adventures are what Ryan writes about in his first book, Following Atticus (William Morrow, 2011).
Ryan talks a lot about his past and growing up with a father that never really understood him or his siblings. When he decides to do a dog rescue, he is living alone and working long and hard hours at keeping a by-weekly newspaper going. His life is filled with attending local government meetings and writing about what’s happening in his town.
When someone from the local zoning board contacts him about a dog needing a good home, he innocently replies that he will run a free ad in the newspaper to help find the dog a home. It turns out Ryan adopts the dog. The two of them, Ryan and Max the dog, bond very quickly and Ryan takes the dog everywhere with him including meetings and assignments.
Max suddenly dies. Within a short time, Ryan gets a puppy miniature schnauzer he names Atticus Maxwell Finch. The book details how the two bond from the beginning. Ryan then takes readers into his decision making process to climb all 48 peaks of the New Hampshire mountains and his decision to take Atticus with him.
The book is very touching, especially for those who have dog they think is special and have had a special life with the dog. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a story about perseverance and finding the stamina to go outside of one’s comfort zone.
Ryan ends the book with, “I’m telling the story of my friend Atticus M. Finch, I often think of that wonderful line from Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “Perhaps love is the process of my gently leading you back to yourself.” For that’s what that little dog did. He led, I followed, and in the end I became the man I dreamed of being when I was a little boy.”
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