Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel

Dawn Tarnauer€s life isn€t exactly a success story. Already twice divorced, the young Californian is too busy job-hopping to start a career, her current boyfriend insists on living €œoff the grid,€ her Life Coach sister perpetually interferes with incomprehensible affirmations, her eccentric mother is busy promoting the culmination of her life€s work: The Every Holiday Tree, and her father is ending his brief third marriage while scheduling two dates for the same night.

Dawn€s only source of security and comfort, it seems, is Chuck, a pit-bull mix from the pound. So, when her boyfriend announces that he€s leaving her for another woman, a despairing Dawn turns to Chuck for solace.
€œI should have said something sooner,€ Chuck confides, as he tries to console her. €œCouldn€t you smell her on his pants?€ Dawn is stunned. It€s one thing to talk to your pets, but what do you do when they start talking back? It€s not just Chuck, either; she can hear all dogs€“and man€s best friend has a lot to say. The ever-enthusiastic Chuck offers his tried-and-true advice on the merits of knocking over garbage and strewing it everywhere, auxiliary competitive peeing etiquette, and the curative powers of tossing a ball. Doubtful of her own sanity, Dawn considers that, in the ways of life and love, it might be better to trust Chuck€s doggie instincts instead of her own.

Filled with sharp wit, biting humor, and canine conversation that would make Doctor Dolittle€s jaw drop, Merrill Markoe€s engaging, cleverly written novel is about the confusing search for love and the divine acts of dog.