Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet's Journey

(Paperback)

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In a lyrical love letter to guide dogs everywhere, a blind poet shares his delightful story of how a guide dog changed his life and helped him discover a newfound appreciation for travel and independence.

Stephen Kuusisto was born legally blindbut he was also raised in the 1950s and taught to deny his blindness in order to "pass" as sighted. Stephen attended public school, rode a bike, and read books pressed right up against his nose. As an adult, he coped with his limited vision by becoming a professor in a small college town, memorizing routes for all of the places he needed to be. Then, at the age of thirty-eight, he was laid off. With no other job opportunities in his vicinity, he would have to travel to find work.

This is how he found himself at Guiding Eyes, paired with a Labrador named Corky. In this vivid and lyrical memoir, Stephen Kuusisto recounts how an incredible partnership with a guide dog changed his life and the heart-stopping, wondrous adventure that began for him in midlife. Profound and deeply moving, this is a spiritual journey, the story of discovering that life with a guide dog is both a method and a state of mind.

Reviews

Kuusistogive[s] readers and animal lovers terrific insight into not only his experience with blindness, but also the unshakable bond between a guide dog and its owner.Publishers Weekly

"Never before has the subtle relationship of a blind person to a guide dog been clarified in such an entertaining way. That Stephen Kuusisto enables us to see the world through his blind eyes as well as through the seeing eyes of his dog is this book's amazing, paradoxical achievement."Billy Collins, U.S. Poet Laureate (2001-2003)

A perceptive and beautifully crafted memoir of personal growth, and a fascinating example of what can happen when a person and a dog learn to partner with one another.Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human

Have Dog, Will Travelis both an intimate memoir of one mans particular experience of blindness and a beautiful tribute to the devotional, unconditional love of a dog.Funny, moving, and joyful.Dana Spiotta, author ofInnocents and Others

I fell in love with Corky, of course, with her goofiness and boundless affection and heart-stopping wisdom. Truth be told, I fell in love with Steve too for how he dove into his new, broken open, adventurous life with her, and the way he processed his experiences through the lens of his reading life, and his compassion for others and for his own late-blooming self.Ona Gritz, author ofOn The Whole: A Story Of Mothering And Disability
"A celebration of Corky and guide dogs everywhere."Library Journal

"Kuusisto tells the poignant story of a midlife rebirth that led to self-acceptance and also celebrates human/animal interdependence and a companionship [that] was intimate and richer than poems. An eloquent and heartwarming memoir."Kirkus Reviews


"[An] irresistible portrait of his first guide dog, Corky...Kuusistos ever-lyrical writing pulses with lush imagery and unflagging curiosity. Theres no doubt: Kuusistos love for Corky, and love itself, become a filter through which to perceive the worldand what a deeply compassionate, beautifully observed world it is." Booklist

Author Bio

Stephen Kuusisto is the author of the memoirs Have Dog, Will Travel; Planet of the Blind (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year); and Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening and of the poetry collections Only Bread, Only Light and Letters to Borges. A graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Ohio State University. He currently teaches at Syracuse University where he holds a professorship in the Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies. He is a frequent speaker in the US and abroad. His website is StephenKuusisto.com.