• Anna Bettina Johnson
• Anthony Holloway
• BL Ochman
• Bridget Pilloud
• Janet Roper
• Dr. Jill Elliot

Book Review: Cowboy & Wills, a must-read boy & a dog love story

Cowboy & Wills

I knew from watching the Cowboy & Wills video that there would be sadness, but I didn’t know how funny, and poignant, inspiring, and just plain beautiful the story of Cowboy & Wills: A Love Story would be. And, wow, am I glad I read it!

Because really, what could be better than a love story starring a boy and a dog. Cowboy & Wills: A Love Story is a love story that anyone who’s ever loved a boy or a dog needs to read.

Author Monica Holloway is the mother of Wills, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was three. Holloway is devastated, and understandably worried about what the future will hold for her son. She impulsively, and then compulsively, gets Wills a menagerie ranging from hermit crabs to bunnies, to help him understand caring for another being. Wills is an incredibly caring boy, doting on all of his pets, while longing and lobbying for a dog.

Wills is heart-breakingly fearful of social situations including school, obsessive, and remarkably tender, in his own unique way. Luckily, Holloway assembles a team of inspired professionals to help Wills navigate, and he makes progress, little by little.

One Christmas, when he is six, Holloway and her husband finally get Wills a Golden Retriever puppy whom he names Cowboy Carol Lawrence. His new “sister” gives him unconditional love that soon leads him to have the courage to interact with other children at school. (Download an excerpt of Cowboy & Wills here.)

Wills, who was barely able to say hello, is soon having play dates with other children in his kindergarden class. He even gains the ability to overcome his mortal terror of water to swim with his water-loving puppy, and to sleep in his own bed for the first time ever, with Cowboy snuggled close. And while he’d never said “I love you” to another human, even his parents, he says it to Cowboy, who loves him back with all her furry being.

Ah, but this idyllic relationship, sadly, is not meant to be long-term. Happily, the changes this furry little angel makes in their lives, in their family, and in their hearts, are forever.

I couldn’t put this book down. Holloway makes you laugh, and cry – sometimes in the same paragraph. Wills’ incredible bravery and huge spirit are inspiring, beyond the pages of this book – which cries out to be made into a movie.

You’ll need tissues, and you’ll laugh out loud while you read this book – sometimes within minutes. So be warned that reading Cowboy & Wills: A Love Story will surely make you look like a nut if you read it while commuting, as I often did.

The writing is artful, Holloway’s observations about everyday life are hilarious, and the story is an instant classic. By time you finish the book, you’ll wish you could have coffee with Holloway, because she’ll feel like a friend.

Buy the beautiful memoir, Cowboy & Wills: A Love Story for yourself, and the people you love. They’ll love it as much as you will.

We give it four paws up!

Cowboy & Wills Website, Facebook page.

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