Review: Katie Up and Down the Hall by Glenn Plaskin

Katie Up and Down the Hall is a distinctly sentimental and touching memoir by celebrity journalist and best-selling author Glenn Plaskin about how his first dog, a blonde Cocker Spaniel, turned a hallway of New York City neighbors into a family. The story spans the fifteen years Plaskin and Katie lived together in Plaskin's Battery City apartment. Katie charms their elderly neighbors Pearl and Arthur, Plaskin's friend and neighbor John and his son Ryan, and many of the celebrities Plaskin interviews as part of his job—such as Leona Helmsley, Peter Jennings, and Katherine Hepburn.

Katie's antics are both charming and likely familiar to many dog owners. Her story illustrates how sometimes the most important people in our lives arrive there both unexpected and completely by accident.  Katie experiences both the mundane and surprising of Plaskin's everyday life and she has a front row seat for the extraordinary and saddening events of 9/11. Her death mirrors the inevitable losses of beloved pets and people in our lives that we all experience.

Katie Up and Down the Hall is a sweet book about a man, his dog, and a family created by choice with a smattering of encounters with familiar celebrities. Glenn Plaskin is a skilled memoir writer which makes
what could be just another dog book an enjoyable read.  Read more about this story on Facebook and on the book's website!

Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family by Glenn Plaskin
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1599952548
ISBN-13: 978-159995-254-3

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of Katie Up and Down the Hall from Hachette Book Group for review in exchange for my honest opinion.  No additional compensation was provided.  The views presented are mine and may differ from others.