Synopses & Reviews
From the author of the uniquely entertaining mother-daughter memoir The Habit comes a moving account of enduring love, an empty nest, and one very special dog named Lilly
It is November 2009, and after months of mourning the loss of Arrow, their beloved Australian shepherd mutt, the Morse family is finally ready to adopt a new dog. David’s acting jobs keep him away from home for long stretches of time, Eliza is happily situated at college, and the twin boys are wrapped up in their senior year of high school. This time it’s Susan’s turn to pick the dog, and she probably should have thought a little more carefully before falling for a retired racing greyhound.
Enter Lilly, who lands like a disoriented neutron bomb in Susan’s comfortable suburban home after living the first three years of her life in the rugged and ruthless world of the racetrack. Instantly lovable but hopelessly inept at domesticity, Lilly turns out to be more than Susan bargained for, throwing all the Morses’ plans for their long-anticipated, footloose empty-nest years into complete disarray.
Lilly imprints on Susan instantly, following her everywhere, determined not to let her out of sight, threatening mass destruction when left home alone. Despite David’s valiant attempts at camaraderie, Lilly absolutely refuses to trust him—or anyone else, for that matter. And as they soon discover, Lilly, like most greyhounds, finds it nearly impossible to climb stairs.
In The Dog Stays in the Picture, Susan Morse chronicles Lilly’s life at home as she moves from bewildered entrant to adored family stalwart—and tells the hilarious and moving story of how an anxious dog and an anxious woman find tranquillity together.
Review
“I read this book straight through one night, and as an avid reader and greyhound rescuer, there are very few books which implore me to finish them in one night. Susan’s voice is real and raucous, and I can’t wait to read it again.” —Claudia Presto, founder of Greyhound Gang
Review
“Susan Morse has officially joined the cult of crazy greyhound lovers. Her dog Lilly’s trepidation about life with the Morse family is seamlessly interwoven with a mother’s desire to let her college-bound children go while locking them in their rooms—forever. Together, they both find their way through night terrors and abandonment issues and crazy mothers and I’m-out-of-here children. That’s life—full, funny and ferocious. And Susan deftly and divinely has captured it all. I read this book straight through one night, and as an avid reader and greyhound rescuer, there are very few books which implore me to finish them in one night. Susan’s voice is real and raucous, and I can’t wait to read it again tonight.” —Claudia Presto, founder of Greyhound Gang
Review
“Difficult circumstances can make or break a person—or a dog. In her affecting memoir
The Dog Stays in the Picture, Susan Morse tells how she and her adopted racing greyhound, Lilly, cope with eerily similar challenges and help each other triumph.” —Cynthia A. Branigan, author of
Adopting the Racing Greyhound and
The Reign of the Greyhound “Every good story about loving a dog is, at its heart, a reminder of the unwavering importance of unconditional love and a lesson that we can’t always script what life will toss at us. Morse’s touching and sometimes laugh-out-loud memoir reminds us that in the act of rescuing someone else, we often end up saving ourselves.” —Lee Woodruff, bestselling author and contributing reporter for
CBS This Morning “Susan Morse’s second memoir,
The Dog Stays in the Picture, is a hectic and hilarious look at growing up and letting go. There’s a little bit of Hollywood in the story, and a lot of family, along with love and loss and sickness and health, but most of all there is Lilly, neurotic and loyal Lilly, graceful and fast, with a dramatic past and a future full of hope. Morse has written an extraordinary tale of transition for dog and human both that is not to be missed.” —William Lashner,
New York Times–bestselling author of
The Barkeep “I read this book straight through one night, and as an avid reader and greyhound rescuer, there are very few books which implore me to finish them in one night. Susan’s voice is real and raucous, and I can’t wait to read it again.” —Claudia Presto, founder of Greyhound Gang
“A lively and flavorful family memoir packed with psychological turbulence, tough realism and a loving rescue dog always an arm’s length away.” —Seattle Kennel ClubSynopsis
"Morse's touching and sometimes laugh-out-loud memoir reminds us that in the act of rescuing someone else, we often end up saving ourselves." --Lee Woodruff, bestselling author and contributing reporter for CBS This Morning It is November 2009, and after mourning the loss of Arrow, their beloved Australian shepherd mutt, Susan and David Morse and family are finally ready to adopt a new dog. David's acting jobs keep him away from home for long stretches of time, the last two teenagers are on their way to college, and this time it's Susan's turn to pick the dog. She probably should have thought a little more carefully before falling for a retired racing greyhound.
Enter Lilly, who lands like a disoriented neutron bomb in Susan's comfortable suburban home after living the first three years of her life in the rugged and ruthless world of the racetrack. Instantly lovable but hopelessly inept at domesticity, Lilly turns out to be more than Susan bargained for, throwing all Susan and David's plans for their long-anticipated, footloose empty-nest years into complete disarray.
In The Dog Stays in the Picture, Susan Morse tells the hilarious and moving story of how an anxious dog and a high-strung woman find tranquility together.
Synopsis
This is not a book about a dog. I really do prefer my husband—honest. But it’s hard to tell the story of our journey into the empty nest, and leave out one particular animal. Which kind of illustrates the problem.
It is November 2009, and after mourning the loss of Arrow, their beloved Australian shepherd mutt, Susan and David Morse and family are finally ready to adopt a new dog. David’s acting jobs keep him away from home for long stretches of time, the last two teenagers are on their way to college, and this time it’s Susan’s turn to pick the dog. She probably should have thought a little more carefully before falling for a retired racing greyhound.
Enter Lilly, who lands like a disoriented neutron bomb in Susan’s comfortable suburban home after living the first three years of her life in the rugged and ruthless world of the racetrack. Instantly lovable but hopelessly inept at domesticity, Lilly turns out to be more than Susan bargained for, throwing all Susan and David’s plans for their long-anticipated, footloose empty-nest years into complete disarray.
In The Dog Stays in the Picture, Susan Morse tells the hilarious and moving story of how an anxious dog and a high-strung woman find tranquility together.
About the Author
Susan Morse was educated at Williams College. She has worked as an actress in L.A. and New York and is the author of The Habit. She now lives in Philadelphia with her husband, David, and their three children, when they’re home from college.