Until Tuesday by Louis Carlos Montalvan

Tuesday is a very unique Golden Retriever. He started his training from only 4 days old at the Service Dogs training facility. He then moved to the Puppies Behind Bars Program being looked after by various prisoners which left him feeling unloved, unsettled and in need of retraining. He then moved to a home for troubled youth so they could learn responsibility and help socialize the dogs. He then went back to the Service Dog training facility for his final training. As bright as he was, he had trouble coping with being moved around and not having his one special person to bond with. One day that would all change when he was matched up with his forever person.
Captain Luis Montalvan had trouble adjusting back into civilian life after his first tour of duty in Iraq and his marriage failed. He decided to sign up for a second tour of duty. He eventually came back to the United States in 2003 a highly decorated soldier, but he also came back a very damaged man, both physically and mentally. He had been stabbed, suffered brain damage and broke three vertebrae in his spine. He received an “Honorable Discharge” from the Army after writing a critical review of the war in the New York Times. Getting back to “normal” life after witnessing the horrors of the Gulf War was almost too much for him to handle. He suffered PTSD, agoraphobia and was in acute physical pain. He even contemplated suicide on a few occasions. He was just managing to make it through the day, fuelled by alcohol and pain killers, somehow even managing to go back to University part time to get his Masters Degree. Through all this he had to fight with the Government to get proper medical treatment. He was trying to get back to being a human being as best as he could. One day, he received an email that would change his life forever. Through a group that helps returned soldiers he learned of an organisation that matches disabled veterans with Service Dogs to help the soldiers have companionship, be able to live more independently, and to help them ease the anxieties of everyday living
On a day that was meant to be Tuesday the dog meets Luis the Veteran. A dog found a forever person and a wounded soldier found the help that he needed to get back to living a better life.
Together they campaign for better treatment of veterans and a better understanding about the role of Service Dogs and their role in helping people. Together they try to educate the community about the legal rights people with Service dogs have and try to end discrimination that is aimed at them.
No matter what your politics are about wars and government you will still find this book truly inspiring. When it comes right down to it, it’s a story about a dog that helps a man, and a man who helps a dog.
Chris.

#whodoneit

It's crime and mystery month.
With fiction sub-geners like detective, legal, historical, psychological, forensic, cosy corner, comic capers, spy and suspense, there is a never-ending supply of reading material and far too many authors to list. However, here's a few of my favourites at this moment...Louise Penny, Fred Vargas, Adrian Magson, Gerard O'Donovan, Martin Walker and David Hewson. I'm always looking for more authors, let me know your favourites.
Who really "done it"? Does the ultimate punishment fit the crime? Are the perpetrators even caught?
Non-fiction more your style? There's no shortage of material to read here either. seedy, cruel, heartbreaking, lawbreaking, fascinating, and often all at once.
Now if you aren't usually a fan of crime, you may be surprised to find crime and mystery in the likes of The name of the rose by Umberto Eco; The daughter of time by Josephine Tey; Do no harm by Carol Topolski. Let's not forget Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the spy series or Enid Blyton's characters. Crime and mystery are everywhere. Even the picture books are into it...what did happen to Harry's sweater in No roses for Harry?
So join us this month in our suspenseful reading, send me a post to put on the blog, add tags to Trove, Library Thing, and tweet using the #whodoneit hashtag. Let others know what you are reading.
Helen

The humans who went extinct by Clive Finlayson

This is a fascinating text that gives a deep insight to the evolution and survival of early man, it also serves as a warning of the dangers of climate change to our own species. Far from being the dull-witted monkey-men we imagine Neanderthals to have been, they were intelligent, worthy proto-humans who were in the wrong palce at the wrong time and became extinct due to climate change. Their technology was equal to that of contemporary proto-humans, our species could just as logically possess equal social and technological skills as today, if Neanderthals had been our anccestors. The cover photo on the book is enlightening, a facial conmstruction of an Neanderthal skull - and without a doubt possessing "human" characteristics.
Stephanie

DOG: The definitive book for dog lovers/ Bruce Fogle

Dog is a book that is not just a list of do’s and don’t’s or a set of instructions – it is an actual families experiences. The good and the bad, the right and the wrong, the ups and the downs. Everyone can relate to the text and stories. It is written with wit and wisdom and emotion. This book will change your attitude to dogs and their training in a very positive way so that you both will have long and happy lives.
The chapters start with the history of dogs and classification and finish with the older dog and a dignified end. Every aspect of having a dog is covered – birthing, choosing, infancy, puppyhood, adolescence, adulthood and everything in between.
This is a book that you could turn to every time your dog surprises you, worries you, needs you or if you are just absolutely desperate for an answer.
Beautifully illustrated and written, you can tell this book is a real labour of love. Dog will always have a place on my book shelves.
Tracie

Lessons in letting go: confessions of a hoarder/Corinne Grant

This book was really easy to read and if you are a hoarder, it may help you to understand why you do it and give you the motivation to de-clutter.
Corinne Grant is a comedian so the book is quite funny at times. It is written in five parts:

Where it started
Where it became unsteady
Where it collapsed
Where it was rebuilt
When it was done

Corinne talks about funny, moving and memorable times from her past and present, as she has realisations as to why she has accumulated so much junk. It took her a year to work through and let go of her clutter, both emotionally and physically. An enjoyable and relatable read.
Cathy.

Not without you by Alan and Irene Brogan

This is a true story of an unbreakable bond formed between two children aged 7 and 9. The couple’s love story began in 1959 when they were placed at the same children’s home in Sunderland, England after the deaths of their mothers. Their fathers struggled to keep their families together which in turn led the children to live in care where cruel punishments were dealt by the carers for any small misdemeanour.
From the moment they met, they were inseparable. They became each others family forming a deep and loving bond but boy-girl friendships in any form were frowned upon in the home. When their friendship was discovered Alan was sent away without any explanation and no goodbye. Although they were forcibly parted their bond was never broken and so started an incredible journey to find each other again.
Despite painful memories of lonely childhoods, cruelty, and desperate attempts to escape the system, this is an astonishing story that will leave you feeling sad, angry and wondering how any child could survive the horrors of the child care system of the 50’s and 60’s.
A wonderful and inspiring read.
Debra

The ghost at the wedding by Shirley Walker

Three generations, two wars and one family… Shirley Walker’s beautifully written memoir of one Australian family’s experience of two world wars is at once tragic and life affirming.

Set in the cane fields of northern NSW’s Clarence River, Gallipoli, The Western Front and the Kokoda trail, The Ghost at the Wedding chronicles the loss and grief of Jessie Walker’s family as sons, brothers and husbands are lost or forever changed in battles beyond Australian shores. It portrays in poignant detail the lives of those at home who wait for news of their men and the dogged resilience they show as they cope as best they can with their fates.

The Ghost at the Wedding has been shortlisted for the 2010 Prime Ministers Literary Awards non-fiction category.

A window into a traumatic period in ordinary Australian’s lives, The Ghost at the Wedding is a must read for its beautiful language, historical insight and the strength of spirit of its characters.

Roxanne