Dog Medicine

DOG MEDICINE

“Anyone who has ever opened their heart and asked an animal to teach them how to live—and there are so many of us—will be deeply moved by the story of Julie Barton and her soulmate Bunker. In this honest, gloriously unselfconscious and compelling memoir, she does great honor, not only to her dog, but to the miracles made possible when logic, and even language, is not allowed to stand in the way of love.”

—
P
AM
H
OUSTON, AUTHOR OF
S
I
GHT
H
OUND

“
Dog Medicine
is the kind of memoir that will bring tears of sadness and joy to anyone who has ever felt rescued by a pet. It is about how the right animal can inspire not just hope but mercy. Julie Barton's prose is lyrical and unflinching, a gorgeous howl in the darkness that leads the reader into the light.”

—
S
TEVE
A
LMOND, AUTHOR OF
C
ANDYFREAK

“
Dog Medicine
accomplishes what only the most authentic writing can do: craft language so that readers live an experience. In this brilliant and lyrical debut memoir, Barton has written a narrative of inescapable appeal. The bond, here, between human and animal isn't easy or sentimental—rather, it's archetypal and magical. There is a Buddhist story of a Bodhisattva, an enlightened one, who refused to enter paradise until an ailing companion dog could also enter.
Dog Medicine
relates an equally powerful story of devotion, only related in real, worldly terms with heartbreaking consequences and rewards.”

—
S
UE
W
ILLIAM
S
ILVERMAN,
AUTHOR
OF
T
HE
P
AT
B
OONE
F
A
N
C
LUB
:
M
Y
L
IFE
AS
A
W
HITE
A
NGLO
-
S
AXON
J
EW

“There are times when another creature can hold our love until we can hold it for ourselves. And then, in perfect symbiosis, the beloved can become the lover, until they are one force.
Dog Medicine
shows us that this is not just possible, but sometimes, a matter of life or death.”

—
L
AURA
M
UNSON,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BESTSELLING AUT
HOR OF
T
HIS
I
S
N
OT
T
HE
S
TORY
Y
OU
T
HINK
I
T
I
S

“Julie Barton's memoir
Dog Medicine
is the most heartbreaking and heartwarming book I've read in years. It tells both the harrowing story of a depression so severe that Barton felt it might ‘vaporize her into millions of tiny molecules' and the consoling story of her eventual recovery through the love of and for her beloved dog and ‘spirit twin,' Bunker. Reader, this book about how Barton's dog changed her life will change your life.”

—
D
AVID
J
AUSS, AUT
HOR OF
G
LOSSOLALIA
:
N
EW
&
S
ELECTED
S
TORIES

“
Dog Medicine
is so powerfully written, so lyrical and true, I felt I'd experienced every moment, all the loss, the crushing depression, the compassion, the great unstoppable love. So much love. Julie Barton's journey with her beautiful dog Bunker from despair to hope was a profound exercise in how to be healed. For that, I'm deeply grateful for having read this amazing book.”

—
A
LAN
H
EATHCOCK, AUTHOR OF
V
OLT

“In
Dog Medicine
, Julie Barton has the cure for the common memoir. Not only an account of the unshakable bond between dog and woman, her tale is a clear-eyed exploration of love, both given and received, which heals our damaged souls and makes us whole again. You'll come back to this book again and again.”

— S
AMANTHA
D
UNN
,
AUTHOR
N
OT
BY
A
CCIDENT
: R
ECONSTRUCTI
NG
A
C
ARELESS
L
IFE

“Julie Barton's wise, wonderful, impeccably written memoir is not just a book about how a puppy can help keep at bay the gray wolf of depression. It's also a book filled with love stories and stories of people finding their better selves, all dramatized with novelistic suspense and complexity. In this age of hour-long therapy shows and sensationalistic self-depiction, Barton's book holds true wisdom as it tells the hard-earned truths of mental illness, self-doubt, abuse, hope, family, forgiveness, connection with self and others, and finally something close to salvation. Barton gives real insight, conveyed through incisive, evocative prose. And she proves the adage that purpose comes not only from how well we are loved but by how well we love.”

— T
IM
P
ARRISH
,
AUTHOR
OF
F
EAR
AND
W
HAT
F
OLLOWS
AND
T
HE
J
UMPER

“A raw and honest memoir about Julie Barton's clinical depression and how the love of a dog helped pull her back from hell. An eloquent testament to the resilience of humans and the healing power of canine love.”

— S
USAN
R
ICHAR
DS
,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BE
STSELLING
AUTHOR
OF
C
HOSEN
BY
A
H
ORSE

“It is not easy to explore the frightening landscape of depression with depth and surprising beauty. But Julie Barton has done just that. As someone who has lived with chronic depression for many years, I can tell you from personal experience how daunting and misunderstood this disease is. Not surprising that it takes the love and loyalty and unwavering sanity of a dog—any pet, really — to reach those of us struggling to find a way through the grips of melancholy. This, I know from experience, too. Read this book if you or someone you love is wrestling with depression. Read this book if you love dogs. Read this book if you want to remember what hope feels like. Just read this book.”

— S
USAN
C
HERNAK
M
C
E
LROY
,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BESTSELLING
AUTHOR
OF
A
NIM
ALS
AS
T
EACHERS
AND
H
EALERS

“Julie Barton was haunted by a major depression that threatened to topple her. What could one small puppy, Bunker, do in the face of such calamity? Only when Barton created a sacred place where she and Bunker could meet, a place without ridicule, doubt, sorrow, or anger, could the true healing begin. Her meticulous rendering of this transformation honors the power of love.”

— J
ACQUELINE
R. S
HEEHAN
,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BESTSELLING
AUTHOR
OF
L
OST
& F
OUND

“This absorbing memoir travels along the axis of depression and hope in beautifully crafted prose. Barton uses fresh language to provide a better understanding of the depths of depression, and introduces us to Bunker, her saving grace who throughout the book holds readers in their place.”

— M
ARCE
LLE
S
OVIERO
,
EDITOR
-
I
N
-
CHIEF
OF
B
RAIN
, C
HI
LD
: T
HE
M
AGAZINE
FOR
T
HINKING
M
OTHERS

“Anyone who has ever loved a dog will relate to Julie Barton's
Dog Medicine
. This memoir is a heartfelt tribute to man's best friend.”

— E
LL
IOTT
H
OLT
,
AUTHOR
OF
Y
OU
A
RE
O
NE
OF
T
HEM

DOG MEDICINE

Julie Barton has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, has been published in several magazines and journals including
Brain Child, Two Hawks Quarterly, The Huffington Post, Louisiana Literature,
and
The South Carolina Review
, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two daughters, and a small menagerie of pets. Find her at
www.byjuliebarton.com.

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First published in the United States of America by Think Piece Publishing 2015

Published in Penguin Books 2016

Copyright © 2015 by Julie Barton

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The Eckhart Tolle quote is taken from the book
Guardians of Being
. Words copyright © 2009 by Eckhart Tolle. MUTTS artwork copyright © 2009 by Patrick McDonnell. Reprinted with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA. www.newworldlibrary.com.

Excerpt from
Women Who Run with the Wolves
by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., copyright © 1992, 1995 by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. Used by permission of Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

eBook ISBN 9781101993545

LIBRARY OF CONGRE
SS CATALOGING-IN-PUB
LICATION DATA

Names: Barton, Julie (Julie H.)

Title: Dog medicine : how my dog saved me from myself / Julie Barton.

Description: New York City : Penguin Books, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016008933 | ISBN 9780143130017

Subjects: LCSH: Dogs—Therapeutic use. | Pets—Therapeutic use. | Human–animal relationships. | Barton, Julie (Julie H.) | Depression in women—Treatment.

Classification: LCC RM931.A65 B37 2016 | DDC 615.8/5158—dc23

Most names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author's alone.

Cover design: Brianna Harden

Cover photograph: Bev Sparks