Not many writers can claim to have written the same book twice--the exception being popular British actress and comedy writer, Miranda Hart (Is It Just Me?). Hart opens her very funny memoir by explaining that her first attempt at writing Peggy and Me was burgled. A thief broke into her apartment and made off with her laptop, which contained the original and only copy of her completed manuscript. "Very cross" about losing great material and years of labor, Hart was forced to reconstruct the story of how a Shih-Tzu Bichon Frise puppy (a "Shitty Frise") entered her life at a very low point. The endearing, unexpected antics of the small dog--whom Hart named Peggy--lifted her spirits.
An obsessive "animal nut," yet first-time dog owner, Hart chronicles her experiences and disastrous encounters with pets pre- and post-Peggy. As a child, Hart was infatuated with zoo animals, badgered her parents for pets every Christmas and even encountered memorable pet-sitting misadventures. With Peggy in her charge, Hart suffers a "poo apocalypse," swoons over a handsome and hunky vet, follows Cesar Millan's puppy training methods--Hart believes the dog handling guru's name sounds more like a salad!--and she cleverly analyzes the quirky, over-zealousness of dog owners at the park. Braided throughout are witty, comic monologues offered by Peggy herself on what it's like to cohabitate, work and travel with single, childless, lovelorn Hart. The trials and travails of this woman-dog bond spur hilarious and profound life lessons. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines