Almost DNF'd this one a dozen times, but it's a fast read, so I pushed through. I'm not that familiar with Barry, but my expectation of a dog-loving humorist's lessons from his sweet, contented old dog was that they would be more wholesome wit and less broadly obvious stereotyping and smug, offensive kvetching. Maybe his brand of humor isn't aging well or maybe it was just never for me. But I also expected Lucy to have a larger role in all of this, and I think that's a fair point. The lessons themselves are okay. And the post-epilogue chapter about his daughter's health scare is some of the best writing in the book. I recommend that you read the introduction. If you don't like what you're hearing, skip to the epilogue for the lesson re-cap and then read the final chapter.