Thu, Sep 21
|Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse
Hersch Wilson, Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends
“When in doubt, walk your dog” is the first of many valuable maxims in Hersch Wilson’s remarkable Dog Lessons. Hersch will be in conversation with Ben Swan, Special Projects Director and Murad Kirdar, Director of Community Engagement, Española Humane Shelter.
Date, Time & Location
Sep 21, 6:00 PM MDT
Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse, 202 Galisteo St, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
About the Event
This will be an in-store event and live streamed to Zoom, register here for Zoom.
Pre-order (publishes Sept. 5) your copy of Dog Lessons online or by calling the store to order (505) 988-4226. Signed copies will be available after the event.
The follow-up to his acclaimed Firefighter Zen, this is not a training manual for dog owners, nor a primer on the latest in animal behavioral science (as he readily admits, he’s a pretty lousy dog trainer). It is instead a blend of memoir and clear-eyed meditation on these fellow pack animals, a heartfelt reflection on what dogs can teach us when we open ourselves enough to listen and learn. After more than sixty years of living and working with dogs (Wilson is a volunteer firefighter and, along with his wife, a boutique pet store owner), he began writing a column about dogs for his local paper in Santa Fe in 2013. The 120 (and counting) entries — filled with self-deprecating stories and lighthearted musings on a life filled with fur-covered furniture, unexplained messes, and destroyed property — evolved into a decade-long meditation on the truths dogs have to teach us. From universal values like loyalty and curiosity to practical lessons on napping, playing, and avoiding a serious fight, it’s eminently good advice.
About the Author
Hersch Wilson has worked (as in jobs he was actually paid for) as a corn pollinator, a ferris wheel operator, a short-order cook, a ballet dancer, an outdoor educator, a soccer coach, a leadership consultant, a pilot, and a writer. The ferris wheel operating was the strangest job. Lots of physics involved. Along the way, he was also a volunteer firefighter-EMT for thirty-three years which culminated in the awarding winning book, “Firefighter Zen, A Field Guide for Thriving in Tough Times.“ He has co-written three national business bestsellers with his father, Larry Wilson, including the award-winning, “Play to Win: Choosing Growth Over Fear in Work and in Life”.
Hersch lives in Santa Fe with his partner Laurie, their daughter Sully and two rescue dogs, Toby, a Great Pyrenees, and Maisie, a terrier-chihuahua mix.