Please welcome Barbara Barth on Choices today while on her WOW! Women on Writing book tour. This is her second time on Choices and we are thrilled to have her here. Her new book, Sleeping with Dogs: A Poetic Memoir is a poetic memoir on living with and loving rescue dogs. It is Barth’s first collection of poems. She calls it a chapbook of second chances.
Here’s what Barbara Barth has to say on the first page this new book:
“Poems are new to me, so I’m giving this my best. Just as writing was new to me when I lost my husband in 2008. But I managed to do it, a widow memoir followed by more books, self-published, finding a creative path that also included dogs, more dogs than I thought I should. In nine months, a house full of adult pups. With no one to say no, I said YES in all caps. To dogs, to life, to pushing forward through doubt and fear.
“At seventy-six, I’ve slowed down, or I’ve learned to just be, at home, with the dogs, time with friends. On the Board of an Art Center that keeps me on my toes, the kindred spirits I crave. Slowing down only means I give myself time to rest. Naps with dogs are no longer guilty pleasure, but quality time with my pack. My bucket list is simple, create more, love more, give back more, and never give up on a dog.
“I hope you enjoy meeting my dogs over the years through free verse poetry, a great form to just speak your mind without worrying about structure. (At least my interpretation!) This was most fun because dogs are in my heart.”
Book Summary
Barbara Barth started adopting dogs to heal after the loss of her husband in 2008. In nine months, she went from one dog to six, all older dogs needing love as much as she did. From larger dogs to downsizing to Chihuahuas over the years, always five to six dogs sleeping in her bed. Each dog with a unique set of quirks but finding its place in the pack. Barth has captured the essence of their personalities in her poems. Sadly, dogs leave us too soon.
Barth believes in honoring a lost dog by adopting another, giving it a safe-haven.
Meet a few of the pups. Queen Chloe, the first Chihuahua who ruled the larger dogs in her leopard print dress. Annabelle, the grumpy, pudgy cocker mix. Dumb and Dumber, the bonded father and son Chihuahuas who quibble then make up. Carmella from Animal Control who doesn’t like other dogs. And the PS as of publishing this, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, a two-year old Chihuahua mix that wants to play in a house full of seniors.
Barth has been writing for as many years as adopting her canines.
Known as Writer With Dogs, her works range from memoir and fiction to publishing and editing several anthologies with other authors. You can be certain, whatever she writes, there are dogs in her stories.
ISBN-13: 979-8988575061
ASIN: B0DNMFXP46
Print Length: 37 pages
Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon. You can also add it to your Goodreads reading list.
About the Author
Barbara Barth turned to writing and adopting dogs to heal after the loss of her husband in 2008. Known as Writer With Dogs over the years, she now calls herself Chihuahua Mama and lives with six demanding Chihuahuas in a charming small town forty miles from Atlanta. She is Literary Arts Chair on the board of her local art center. Inspired by the many talented artists she meets Barth started painting. Her whimsical style embraces ladies, gardens, critters, and of course cats and dogs.
Find her online at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarabarthstudio/
Blog: https://barbarabarthartandwords.blogspot.com/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarbaraBarthStudio
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