Nick Trout | Bibliotica

About the book, The Wonder of Lost Causes

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 30, 2019)

In this unforgettable novel, perfect for fans of An Unexpected Grace and A Dog’s Way Home, a single mom and her chronically ill child receive a valuable lesson from an unlikely source—a very special dog who unexpectedly enters their lives and shows them that one person’s lost cause can be another’s greatest gift . . .

Dr. Kate Blunt will do anything for her son, Jasper. Well, almost anything. Since Jasper has the incurable lung disease cystic fibrosis, Kate’s always told him he couldn’t get a dog. It’s a tough call, but she’s a single mom taking care of a kid who fights for every breath he takes. The daily medical routine that keeps Jasper alive is complicated enough. Worse still, Kate’s personal resolve runs contrary to her work as the veterinarian in charge of a Cape Cod animal shelter, where she is on a mission to find forever homes for dogs in desperate need.

The scarred, mistreated wreck of a dog that turns up doesn’t stand a chance. Named Whistler, he’s too old, too ugly. But the dog forms an instantaneous bond with Jasper. Whistler never makes a sound, yet he speaks to Jasper in a myriad of mysterious ways. The clock’s ticking, the dog’s future hangs in the balance, and Jasper would do anything to find him a home; but Whistler has chosen them—for a reason.

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About the author, Nick Trout

Dr. Nick Trout works full-time as a staff surgeon at the prestigious Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. He is the author of five previous books, including the New York Times bestseller Tell Me Where It Hurts, and his writing has been translated into sixteen different languages. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Kathy; their daughter, Emily; their adopted labradoodle, Thai; and Emily’s service dog, a black Labrador named Bella.

Connect with Nick:

Find out more about him at his website.

My Thoughts

A child with cystic fibrosis, a mother who wants her son to live a long and healthy life, a dog who desperately needs a home – these are the central figures of The Wonder of Lost Causes but while each can be perceived as such at the beginning of the story, by the end, it’s clear that each of these three beings is exactly who and what they’re meant to be.

Jasper – whom we meet as a young boy – struggles to breathe because of his disease. A family friend is an adult survivor of this illness -one of the oldest survivors of it, in fact – and I’ve heard him describe the sensation of drowning inside your own body that author Trout uses with Jasper so vividly.

Jasper’s mother, Kate Blunt, is a shelter veterinarian who takes in hard luck cases and rehomes them. Sure, Jasper always wants to take them home, but they can’t – they live in a no-pets-allowed apartment. (This is the only part of the story that didn’t ring true for me. I have four dogs, all rescues, and work in rescue, and every rescuer, every shelter worker, every vet and vet tech I know has multiple animals. Even the local animal control officers I know will “hide” dogs in the system if they think it will buy them time.) Still, I did believe that she wanted the best for her son. And having a child with a chronic illness does change the way you see the world.

Then there’s Whistler – that’s his name, we’re told, because he told Jasper so – the dog. He’s a hard luck case, abandoned by one loving owner, then either run away or given up by a string of others… I’ve met dogs like this, and usually, if they’re lucky, they find the right person, finally, to give them that final forever home.

These three beings come together over the course of the novel, in a story that is heart-wrenching, heartwarming, frustrating, and fabulous, all by turns.

Author Trout excels at writing the boy-and-dog interactions, especially, and I wanted to reach through the screen and hug both. Kate made be bristle a lot, but I finally warmed to her, understanding her fear and her hopes. As I said, her intentions were always the best.

At it’s heart, this isn’t a disease story or a vet story or an animal story, it’s a family story, and this family, is both familiar and unique.

But it’s also an emotionally satisfying one, and while there are sad moments, the tears are earned. “When you cry about losing a dog,” an adult Jasper tells another child late in the novel, “it means the dog did its job.” Like the dogs we all love, this novel does its job, and does it brilliantly.

Goes well with a hot dog a fries that you sneak a few of to your dog.