Puppy Chow is Better Than Prozac: The True Story of a Man and the Dog Who Saved His Life by Bruce Goldstein


Posted on Aug 31, 2009
By Tanya Turgeon

REVIEW by Tanya Turgeon

DeCapo Press, 2008
286 pages
$25.00

Bruce Goldstein has suffered from manic depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal tendencies, hypochondria, psychotic episodes, mood swings, anxiety, hallucinations, possessive dark thoughts, and to top it all off Crohn's disease- a painful, inconvenient and frustrating digestive malady.  "Puppy Chow is Better Than Prozac" intimately chronicles Bruce's quest for happiness, stability, and mental peace, proving there's no better place to find these things than at the end of a leash.

Quite a few chapters pass before Ozzy, a beautiful black Labrador, enters the scene and helps get Bruce's life back on track.  Once there he radiates all the puppy love and canine magnetism we've come to expect from these wonderful creatures known as dogs.  Bruce's condition serves a positive purpose in this regard, as it amplifies the therapeutic doggie qualities of loyalty, living in the moment, being nonjudgmental, loving unconditionally, and needing us in return.

The writing, which gives the impression of a detailed journal entry, could not capture more accurately the roller coaster ride of highs and lows associated with manic depression.  At times, the pace is fast, clipped, repetitive; like when Bruce is frantically consumed with getting a dog.  Once the excitement passes, the thoughts slow and the writing resumes more normal cadence with complete sentences.

Just because the book focuses on depression doesn't mean it's without lighter moments.  Goldstein's fondness for alliteration ("Mad Maxes of Martha's Vineyard" or "barked back at the bassineted blabbermouth") can make  you smile.  And he has great fun with the complexity of the English language by blending dog friendly phrases and a mental health vocabulary to form creative combinations such as, "Manic's Best Friend", Post-Puppy Depression", "My Goldstein Retriever", or "Heal, Heel".

This book was ten years in the making.  Reading what Bruce Goldstein went through the first time and the honesty with which he presented his experiences as he confronted them a second time through his writing brings to mind one adjective: brave.  Somehow, I'm sure he would say he couldn't have done it without his dog.

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