The Hallelujah Chorus

by Doug Jordan

The sequel to The Maxim Chronicles, this heart-warming 'memoir', of sorts, continues the story of a poodle-loving family and their journey with their beautiful white female Standard Poodle, Hallelujah, as she finds her way through puppyhood, to the show ring and on to motherhood. The story continues with daughter Bonnie Doon and another trip to 'The Show', and then on to the dogs' real purpose – family pets. At once amusing, and poignant, you'll learn more about raising Champion Poodles than you ever thought you wanted to know. And along the way you'll ponder passing comments about life, according to the author.

360 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2017

About the author

Executive Coach by day; author/writer by night, though these days it's mostly writer day and night with the occasional consulting gig.

I have [self-]published eight books so far: the latest a novel about a boy growing up in a small village in 1960s Ontario. In 2020 we released 'Travels With Myself' about my transition through grief to a renewed sense of purpose following a novel in 2019 about the loss of love [Amitié, A Novel]; three on career and management effectiveness [The Dynamics of Management]; and two memoirs about the family dogs [The Maxim Chronicles and its sequel, The Hallelujah Chorus].
My blog, Travels With Myself II continues with reflections on life, purpose, self-discovery, and writing.
I hope to get back to The Philippines soon to continue my research for my next opus, The Girl from Santa Rita. A couple of romances are lurking somewhere too.

I am the Principal in my own firm, AFS Consulting, in Ottawa. Canada. I spent the first twenty years of my career in industry in Human Resources Management, and the next twenty in consulting in organization and management effectiveness. In addition to my books and blogs as Doug Jordan, author, I have also written dozens of articles on management, and life. You can investigate these at http://www.afsconsulting.ca/blog/
I have a B.A. in Politics and Economics and an MBA from Queen’s University, Kingston.

In all these endeavours I hope to entertain, possibly to educate.

Reviews

[Marilyn Sykes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read for anyone who understands the value that pets bring into our lives. The Hallelujah Chorus describes the chaos and love that purebred poodles contribute in the author's home, connecting husband and wife in the challenges of life and in particular the joys of dog shows, raising puppies and keeping a princess dog happy. The author shares his views on life, relationships, and family in this gentle and provocative read.

[Shannon Christner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to sit quietly with my thoughts prior to writing this review. The Hallelujah Chorus, while informative on a lot of topics besides Poodles, left me with a deeper appreciation for the written word. Author, Doug Jordan, invites you on a journey with him to such an extent, the reader feels that they too are in the story. So well done are the descriptive passages of what the “The Chorus” of characters are like and get up to, you feel you are living the moments and years alongside Mr. Jordan and his family. Moments of joy and sadness, awe, humour and lastly, love. Because if there is one undercurrent of themes in this novel it is that of love. Love of family, friends and of course, love for those dogs. This is not a novel solely for Poodle lovers, or even dog lovers. No, it is a novel with heart. And all of us could benefit from stories like these. A solid 5 stars.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course five stars. But I do think this is quite a good read.