Lost & Found

What a wonderful book! I couldn't put it down. The characters were constantly evolving and wonderful. Any animal lover will completely gobble up this book, but even those not so familiar with our furry friend's charms will find nothing but gems within the 278 pages of this book. The main character, Rocky, as she is appropriately nicknamed, is dealing with a devastating loss. Her husband dies suddenly and she takes a leave of absense from her job to move to a coastal Maine island to work as an animal control warden---a far cry from her normal career as a psychologist. It proves to be one of the best moves she has ever made. As a result, she grows both emotionally, psychologically and even spiritually due to the loving good-naturedness of a lost black lab who is suffering a loss of his own. This beautiful creature pulls at least 10 people together and splendidly puts them exactly where they should have been a long time ago: on track. I really wish the book had no ending as I could have continued to read it indefinitely. I really hope Ms. Sheehan will write a sequel, it was simply that good. I literally cried and was so moved during some of its chapters and I found myself feeling so fulfilled in the end....yet wanting more information of what was to come. Highly recommended!!!!!

Rarely do I get so excited over a book that I buy extra copies and pass them out but that was my reaction to "Lost and Found". Author Jacqueline Sheehan wrote a beautiful, sensitive, and insightful book about loss, grief, and letting go. When a psychologist's life is shattered in one moment, she escapes to the solitude of an island off the coast of Maine in a desperate attempt to hide from her pain. When Rocky (short for Roxanne) takes the job of animal control officer, she gets involved with a lovable dog who begins to melt her frozen heart. Rocky becomes embroiled in a young girl's silent agony, a new friend's personal challenges, and the mystery that could endanger her own life. I absolutely devoured this book from start to finish. The characters were so real, the writing precise, and the story riveting. In a couple of chapters, Sheehan writes from the dog's perspective, delivering a new insight into the human-canine friendship. After finishing this book at 2 a.m., I wrote the author and begged her to continue the journey of these characters (and she responded that she is considering it). Then I ordered three more copies to pass along to a dog lover, a mystery fan, and a hopeless romantic. They will each love "Lost and Found" because each will "find" something to make them smile.

This bittersweet story of a widow coming to grips with her loss and her life is a truly wonderful read. The widow, a psychologist named Rocky, is described as being annoying and blunt, and I did find her behavior and method of dealing with her grief somewhat over the top. Especially for a woman trained as a psychologist. Nevertheless, readers will empathize with Rocky and fall in love with Cooper, the injured black Lab she rescues. I came to respect Rocky for her tenacity and courage, but I absolutely adored Cooper whose loyalty, devotion and intelligence grabbed me firmly by the heart. And I'm not even a dog owner. This is without a doubt the best book I've read in years.

Grief comes in many forms and has many obsessions as people [and dogs] work though the loss of loved ones. This very special book tells a story of the helplessness of sorrow, the determination to live with/through it, and the transforming power of living with a broken heart. Broken hearts heal in amazing and simple ways. We don't ever get over the loss of a loved one, but we do manage to get used to it. This is one of those stories. You love the characters, understand them and suffer with them. And then you smile through the tears. This is a consoling and comforting as hugging a big black labrador retriever......

I hope that Jacqueline Sheehan has LOTS more stories and characters and novels in her. What could have been a mawkish or heavyhanded story about how to survive the death of your husband, was an artful depiction of psychological truths. A variety of parent-child relationships are overlapped and contrasted. While the characters try to manage their feelings and behaviors, the author gives them free reign, leaving room for laughter, tears, romance and shock. I am philosophically opposed to giving any book 5 stars, but I can find nothing "wrong" with this. I loved the characters and was perfectly happy to stay up til 3 am finding out what happened to them all. I hope this makes it to the big screen.