Have Dog, Will Travel

A Poet's Journey with an Exceptional Labrador

By: Stephen Kuusisto

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

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 blind—but 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.

Thoughtful and Educational

This book exposes you to the trials of a blind person. It shows how much a dog will change a human soul and how trusting a dog and man relationship can be. The narrative was calming emphasizing how caring and loving work together to improve life.

the idea of trying to seem normal hits home

I will write more praise when I finish about the similarities between blind blending and normalizing mental disabilities.

A great tribute to seeing eye dogs

I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up this title. I was hesitant because, you know, your first thought is to wonder if this is the Audible version of "Old Yeller". Actually, this audio book is surprisingly informative yet brutally frank in its presentation. Honestly, if you're like me before I listened to this book, you don't know much about a seeing eye dog's role or how they are trained. I learned so much from this touching, well written account. I highly recommend this audio book.

Important read

Such a sweet and important story. This book shows why it’s important for us to all read about and familiarize ourselves with disabilities rights.
#guidedogs #lovedogs #mustread
#tagsgiving #sweepstakes

hit cloae to home.

being legally blind myself. Listening to this book brought back so many memories good and bad. i wish everyone could hear these words.