Fit as Fido

Endal Book Review and Giveaway

02.09.2011 // Fit As Fido // Dawn A. Marcus, M.D. // 14 Comments

Endal: how one extraordinary dog brought a family back from the brink is much more than the story of an incredible dog. Endal chronicles the lives of two incredible people — both struck with seemingly insurmountable loss and despair. Endal is really the story of perseverance, commitment, promises kept, and hope. This story is truly unique as the reader is brought into the home and souls of two people on the flip-side of the same tragedy. Allen — the man who lost his emotional connections, his livelihood, his ability to walk, and his past after suffering from a severe brain injury while serving in the Royal Navy. And Sandra — the Sailor’s wife at home, expecting to manage the household and raise two children while Allen was on duty but instead finding that “her” funny, capable, supportive Allen wouldn’t be coming home. Sandra’s role changed from devoted wife to nurse and caregiver for a detached, self-absorbed, and often downright unpleasant stranger who now lived in her husband’s body.

For those of you unfamiliar with Allen’s story, Allen was serving with the Royal Navy during the Gulf War, in charge of designing weapons electronic systems, leaving a young and capable wife at home with two very small children to raise. Allen was best known for being bright, ambitious, hardworking, and very sociable. Sandra had learned to lean on her strong husband for support and her burdens were lightened through his frequent humor and practical jokes. While Allen was serving, Sandra received a seemingly innocent phone call, “Allen’s in the hospital, but he’s really okay.” When Sandra was finally able to locate Allen and go to visit him, he may have looked the same on the outside, but he was not the man she’d married. Sandra helps to show us the devastating impact of brain injury on patient and family. As a neurologist myself, I was especially impressed that they really voiced the concerns of patients with brain injuries and their loved ones so well: the patient often failing to grasp how truly changed they are, becoming angry with and paranoid about those trying to help them; and the family wanting so desperately to “bring their loved one back” through love and devotion, eventually accepting that the person they loved is never coming back.

But Allen and Sandra’s story is not all gloom and doom. They both approach life with a stalwart attitude of carrying on through the storm and working for a brighter tomorrow. For example, instead of Sandra giving in to despair and retreating to a life of bitterness and isolation, she turned to helping others and, in the process helped herself, Allen, countless individuals with disability, and a pup named Endal.

What makes this story so inspiring is the decision Allen and Sandra made to share their journey — each from their own sometimes conflicting perspectives. They tell their story with incredible openness, honesty, and bravery — warts and all. There’s no looking through rose-colored glasses here. You really have the sense of being a fly-on-the-wall throughout their marriage, seeing how life TRULY was rather than how things might have appeared to an outsider. Anyone struggling with a life-changing illness, a return to civilian life after military service, or a loss of oneness in a relationship or marriage will identify with the poignant feelings of anger, frustration, and bitterness and probably recognize some of their own less-than-admirable behaviors and responses in this book. I truly commend Allen and Sandra for having the courage to open their lives in such a way to help make others feel they’re not alone.

Allen will tell you this book is about Endal and how an incredible Labrador Retriever assistance dog came into the lives of two people desperately in need of someone to show them the road to a new and fulfilling life. Allen loves talking about Endal and helping others also achieve the freedom from aloneness and independence that he has been able to achieve through this amazing bond. And yes — Endal is an amazing dog, but in many ways Endal is really a canine model of the best of Allen and Sandra. Throughout their story, the three, in their own ways, each overcome adversity (Endal had severe joint problems that initially kept him from assistance dog work) and pursue life with a never-give-up, we’re-in-this-together, we-can-make-the-best-of-this-if-we-just-move-forward-together attitude.

Endal is a must read:

- if you have had disappointments in life
- if you have struggled in a relationship turned sour
- are a single parent coping with raising your children or you experienced post-partum depression
- if you know someone who served in the military
- if you know someone with a brain or spine injury
- if you love a dog
- if you need a message of hope when all seems hopeless

Allen is eager to share his story with YOU and has graciously agreed to personalize two copies with autographs to send to two people reading this review and leaving a comment. To be eligible to win, you must leave a comment by the end of day Friday. Two randomly-selected winners will be chosen on Saturday. Good luck!

“When the guns fall quiet on the battlefield, the battle with disability, trauma and bereavement goes on forever…for so many.”