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Lost & Found (Rocky Pelligrino #1)
by
Jacqueline Sheehan (Goodreads Author)
Roxanne Pellegrino's world collapses when her husband dies unexpectedly. The only way she feels she can deal with her all-consuming grief is to run away from her life. She leaves her home, her career and her friends, heading for Peaks Island, a tiny speck off the coast of Maine. A former psychologist, she finds herself taking a job as an animal warden and reinventing her p...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 28th 2007
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published 2007)
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Opening Line: "Bob had left the food carton on the counter the night before and it now smelled of grease and fish."
As a dog lover I was enchanted by LOST AND FOUND but just about anyone will be able to find something to like within this engaging story. Filled with love, loss, adventure and even a little mystery, this is a story about the ability of the human (and dog) spirit to carry on and just what grief can reduce us to. Full of very real and charming characters, a surprising whodunit storyli...more
As a dog lover I was enchanted by LOST AND FOUND but just about anyone will be able to find something to like within this engaging story. Filled with love, loss, adventure and even a little mystery, this is a story about the ability of the human (and dog) spirit to carry on and just what grief can reduce us to. Full of very real and charming characters, a surprising whodunit storyli...more
Ever lost a loved one, ever felt the claw of grief ripping your heart out? That's what happens to Rocky in LOST AND FOUND. Her husband dies at 42 and despite being a psychologist herself, she goes into a state of despair so profound she can no longer work at helping others. Instead, she moves to a small tourist island in Maine and becomes an Animal Control officer. Only one person on the island knows her story and she likes it that way. She isolates herself from her family perferring strangers,...more
On loan from harper415sc.
Some very nice elements in the story, once I got over the heart-stopping fear I have of early-spouse death. I had trouble at first, but soldiered on, through the beginning and Bob's death. It was in the midst of those first pages, when Rocky is talking to a physician, who has yet to tell her that Bob did not revive, that I realized the author could phrase things. There was a sequence that described how cold she felt, and how she was shaking uncontrollably. And then she...more
Some very nice elements in the story, once I got over the heart-stopping fear I have of early-spouse death. I had trouble at first, but soldiered on, through the beginning and Bob's death. It was in the midst of those first pages, when Rocky is talking to a physician, who has yet to tell her that Bob did not revive, that I realized the author could phrase things. There was a sequence that described how cold she felt, and how she was shaking uncontrollably. And then she...more
This book was kind of weird. I think the author had a pretty good idea for the main plot of the story: a widow who is grieving for her husband rescues a dog who is grieving for his owner. However, it seemed like she was trying too hard to make the main characters seem realistic by giving them faults and making them "quirky," and instead she succeeded in making them come across as somewhat mentally unbalanced. I had a really hard time connecting with any of them. Ultimately, the story that should...more
I finished this book today and I really enjoyed it. It's about a woman whose husband dies and she moves away and tries to start her life over and in the midst of all the changes she is going through, she rescues a dog, Lloyd. It's a good story, it's got a tiny bit of suspense in it, just a hint and it's well-written. There are about 4 well developed characters and I like that because then I can get to know them well and not have to worry about remembering who is who or running into a new charact...more
Another young widow book, better than some. Loved the dog. I especially liked her description of anorexia and of a syndrome where people attach colors or movement to words, letters or numbers. Very interesting and thoughtful. I'm giving it four stars because of those elements, not because of the main plot.
What I disliked: I didn't like the ending, where the character finds a new man so easily. I also didn't like that she was so mean to the guy.
Why do these books about bereavement always end wit...more
What I disliked: I didn't like the ending, where the character finds a new man so easily. I also didn't like that she was so mean to the guy.
Why do these books about bereavement always end wit...more
Grieving widow. Broken hearted dog with an arrow in him. A retired physical therapist with synesthesia. An unhappy (are there any other kind) teenager with anorexia. A spiritual archery instructor. A frightening obsessive and a mysterious death (was it suicide? or murder). Add together, shake and you have this good book. Not groundbreaking in any way but a very pleasant read. I do think the writer wrote one of the more believable descriptions of grief, how it grabs you and turns all your previou...more
Good book. Finished it in over a weekend. There aren't many books that actually make me cry but this one did during the chapter where Cooper-Lloyd (the dog) had to be returned to original family members. If you have a dog that you care for deeply and the feeling is mutual, then you will tear up too. It tugs at your dog-loving heartstrings.
I was a little confused during the part where Rocky was investigating into the suicide of the dog owner...I felt as though it jumped around quite a bit...but c...more
I was a little confused during the part where Rocky was investigating into the suicide of the dog owner...I felt as though it jumped around quite a bit...but c...more
What a wonderful book written from two pronounced points of view. Tackling the sticky topics of grief from the loss of loved ones, anorexia and self punishment, and synesthesia, Jacqueline Sheehan leads the reader to understand that there can still be joy in the world if one will open himself/herself to the healing power of honesty and love.
Taking a job as an animal warden on a small eastern coast island, Rocky disguises her background as a psychologist and new widow as a means of preventing he...more
Taking a job as an animal warden on a small eastern coast island, Rocky disguises her background as a psychologist and new widow as a means of preventing he...more
Nov 30, 2008
Lori Whitwam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
popular-fiction
What do you do when you're 40-ish, and your 42 year old husband drops dead in the bathroom... and you can't save him? Rocky gives up her career as a psychologist and moves to a small New England island, and takes a job as their animal control officer. She doesn't want anyone, other than the elderly public works director that hired her, to know about her tragedy or former career. Before long, a sweet black lab turns up, seemingly abandoned on the island by a late-departing tourist... with a hand-...more
Given that this story includes a dog (Note: A dog is on the cover, so I had to buy it!), a woman in (early) mid-life, and archery -- all things I can relate to -- I thought the book was sure to be a winner for me. But I was disappointed. The characters didn't come across as fully fleshed-out human beings, but more as ideas for characters. The writing style was too simplistic for me (a bit like the reading primers of my childhood, "See Dick. See Jane. See them chase Spot.") and perhaps because of...more
This started out slow for me. I wasn't patient with Rocky’s shock, grief and coping strategies on the death of her relatively young husband (in his 40’s). I’m not exactly sure why I wasn't patient with her. I think it may have been because she seemed to be wallowing in her shock and grief for the death of her husband and their life together.
I’m not trying to say that she shouldn't have been grief stricken and in shock by the death of her husband. That is a truly devastating and life altering ev...more
I’m not trying to say that she shouldn't have been grief stricken and in shock by the death of her husband. That is a truly devastating and life altering ev...more
This is the story of grief, human resilience, unconditional love and happy endings with a little bit of mystery thrown in. The heroine, Rocky, loses her husband, who she loves dearly, prematurely to a heart attack. Stricken by grief, she leaves the familiarity of her surroundings and seeks comfort in anonymity. Unexpected friendships blossom, and she finds new purpose in her role as a animal warden, and the black lab that she foster cares, which she unsurprisingly adopts as her own. Through this...more
This is a beautiful book that will embraced by anyone contemplating grief/loss, animal lovers, or even those looking for good writing and a compelling plot. Rocky is a psychologist who loses her veterinarian husband to a heart attack and is traumatized that she couldn't save him. She flees to a small town and becomes Animal Control Warden and meets a wonderful cast of quirky characters, and a wounded dog that will help her heal (and plunge her into a mystery of where he came from). The only nega...more
I am a huge Labrador Retriever lover so the cover of this book caught my eye first. I ended up really loving it. Rocky (a psychologist at a university) and her husband Bob (a veterinarian) have a happy marriage until Bob drops dead of a heart attack in the opening pages of the book. He was only 42 and sounded like one heck of a guy. Rocky is totally devastated and leaves her home and her job in Massachusetts to become an Animal Control Warden on a small island off the coast of Maine. Rocky is a...more
I found this book an enjoyable read and must admit, despite it's subject found it a light read that certainly spoke to me and appealed to the positive side of my nature. I became immediately engaged at the beginning as the author built her main character, capturing me as I gladly entered Rocky's world as she learns to continue living after the death of her husband. I remained engaged as the story of a crisis becomes one of self discovery and change. The author shares a true sense of the human sp...more
Rocky's husband Bob was just forty-two when she discovered him lying cold and lifeless on the bathroom floor . . . and Rocky's world changed forever. Quitting her job, chopping off all her hair, she leaves Massachusetts—reinventing her past and taking a job as Animal Control Warden on Peak's Island, a tiny speck off the coast of Maine and a million miles away from everything she's lost. She leaves her career as a psychologist behind, only to find friendship with a woman whose brain misfires in t...more
Though I have read many more complex pieces of fiction and non-fiction during the past year, this recent read spoke to me in a very special way.
When Rocky Pelligrino finds herself suddenly widowed, she does not return to her career as a college campus psychologist. Rather, she packs up her old Gremlin and leaves her old life behind as she struggles to find meaning in her altered life. After reinventing herself as an animal-control warden on Peak Island, Maine, she assembles an eclectic inner cir...more
When Rocky Pelligrino finds herself suddenly widowed, she does not return to her career as a college campus psychologist. Rather, she packs up her old Gremlin and leaves her old life behind as she struggles to find meaning in her altered life. After reinventing herself as an animal-control warden on Peak Island, Maine, she assembles an eclectic inner cir...more
I found this book in the bargain books section at Barnes & Noble. It sounded like a story about a woman who loses her husband and gets a dog who helps her deal with her grief. Well, it is so much more involved than that!
In the first few pages, Rocky's 42-year-old husband dies suddenly of a heart attack. As a former lifeguard, Rocky knows CPR and tries unsuccessfully to save him. Her grief is all-consuming. She takes a leave of absence from her job and moves to tiny Peak's Island, where she t...more
In the first few pages, Rocky's 42-year-old husband dies suddenly of a heart attack. As a former lifeguard, Rocky knows CPR and tries unsuccessfully to save him. Her grief is all-consuming. She takes a leave of absence from her job and moves to tiny Peak's Island, where she t...more
I always have a hard time writing reviews, especially with books I rate less than four stars. But I feel it's even more important to offer a review when it's low stars. So...
This was an easy read, and I think the author has more than a few good stories to share. But, the writing is not good and is the reason I could not give this book three stars. And that is saying something, because I am rarely bothered by these things. The main character (and a lot of her actions and responses) is not really...more
This was an easy read, and I think the author has more than a few good stories to share. But, the writing is not good and is the reason I could not give this book three stars. And that is saying something, because I am rarely bothered by these things. The main character (and a lot of her actions and responses) is not really...more
I liked the first half of this novel best. Got a bit melodramatic after that. Rocky (Roxanne) takes a leave of absence from a college counseling position (degree work in psychology) after losing her veterinarian husband to a heart attack which her CPRing couldn't stop. She heads to Peaks Island to work as an animal control officer, living alone in a rental. Befriended by Isaiah, the island's major domo, and Tess, a synesthete/physical therapist, she also becomes involved with anorectic Melissa,...more
I am a sucker for any book with a dog on the cover. This one was no exception. It made me pick up the book. That goofy yet endearing look of a Lab. So I said to myself, why not, let's give it a go, it has a dog in it.
Well, it sucked me in. The transfiguration of a woman who has lost her husband and finds herself completely changed, not even in her own skin. It is refreshing (perhaps not the most apt of words) in this day of "get over it, move on" philosophy in which mourning is a somewhat suspec...more
Well, it sucked me in. The transfiguration of a woman who has lost her husband and finds herself completely changed, not even in her own skin. It is refreshing (perhaps not the most apt of words) in this day of "get over it, move on" philosophy in which mourning is a somewhat suspec...more
First off, my mother have horrible taste in books. Second, I kept reading this hopeing that it would get better. It got a little more exciting the last two chapters, but other than that, it wasn't that great. The story follows a woman who's husband dies and she runs away from everything to a tiny island off the coast of Maine. There she tries to build a new persona about herself and meets a hurt dog who she falls in love with and makes her want to live again, but the dog has a past and now his p...more
You will cry through this whole book. The husband kicks it on the first page. The woman is devastated, obviously. In the few weeks afterward, she has trouble being in the house, going to work, and functioning as a person. She needs a change.
She goes to an island off Maine to live for a year as the animal control warden. She meets people, makes friends, adopts a dog and cat, and takes up archery as a hobby.
There's more to it, such as the custody battle for the dog and the teenage girl next door s...more
She goes to an island off Maine to live for a year as the animal control warden. She meets people, makes friends, adopts a dog and cat, and takes up archery as a hobby.
There's more to it, such as the custody battle for the dog and the teenage girl next door s...more
Rocky's husband dies at the young age of 42 and even tho Rocky's a psychologist, she's unable to cope with his death and her inability to save him. She reinvents herself thinking it will enable her to exist without explaining her widowhood and talking about her vet husband. Escaping to a little island off the coast of Portland, Maine, Rocky takes a job as an Animal Control Warden and is befriended by her boss, a former minister. Tess, a wonderful carefree physical therapist, has synesthesia, a c...more
I’m only 100 pages into this book and I’m already completely annoyed. To begin with, we meet the main character when she’s angry at her husband because she has to order socks. Then, she’s plunged into grief without ever having established a relationship with her husband other than being angry with him (not a spoiler if you read the first sentence of the synopsis). And, we haven’t gotten to know her well enough to feel any sympathy for this irrationally (in my opinion) angry woman.
Secondly, the a...more
Secondly, the a...more
This was a fast not so easy emotional read. Rocky Pelligrino's husband, a veterinarian, dies on the bathroom floor of a massive heart attack. Rocky tries saving him with CPR and fails. Succumbing to overpowering grief and depression Rocky, a psychologist, moves to Peak's Island off the Maine coast, a summer resort community, and takes a job as an Animal Control Warden. Not letting anyone know who she really is she befriends an elderly black man, her boss; an eccentric neighbor named Tess with sy...more
I don't know if I can write a helpful review of this book because I have such conflicting thoughts about it. Just deciding the number of stars was difficult. As I was reading, I often thought of just returning this book to its owner because I didn't like it; but on the other hand, it kept drawing me back because I couldn't leave the story unfinished in my mind. I finally came to appreciate the book more after reading "About the Book: Inspiration for Lost and Found" at the end. This helped me und...more
Jan 29, 2013
Fuchsia Rascal
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2013,
realisticfiction
This book is definitely a case of trying to cram way too much into one story. Even if you disregard the writer's weird descriptions [breasts as poached eggs? Toes shooting yellow lights of happiness?], the story falls flat. She tried to make every character unique and ~quirky~, understandable with the author's background in psychology, but the way she did it just felt odd. Not everyone in a story has to have something devastatingly unique about them. The story would have carried a lot better if...more
I thought Jacqueline Sheehan did a super job bringing the reader to a better understanding with what happens to us when we loose a spouse. She goes way beyond the words of "grieving" and tells us exactly the mental and physical trauma that someone in Rocky's position would feel when loosing a husband at an early age. This author puts it all out there for us to understand Rocky's grief and to not judge her as she makes the changes she needs for herself to heal. Not everyone heals the same way eit...more
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Jacqueline Sheehan, Ph.D., is a fiction writer and essayist. She is also a practicing psychologist. She is a New Englander through and through, but spent twenty years living in the western states of Oregon, California, and New Mexico doing a variety of things, including house painting, freelance photography, newspaper writing, clerking in a health food store, and directing a traveling troupe of hi...more
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“But in this life, he is dog. His life is ocean, stick, ball, sand, grass, ride in the truck, sleep by the bed, look deep into the eyes of humans, lure them outdoors, greet them with a burst of joy when they come home, love them. Fill this brief life with more. And more.”
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“There is no explanation for love. But love is all that matters, isn't it?”
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