A Big Little Life: Dean Koontz’s Memoir of his Joyful Golden Trixie

A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog, is Dean Koontz’s new book about life with his beloved Golden Retriever, Trixie (you can read an excerpt here).

“Trixie was joyful, affectionate, comical, intelligent, remarkably well behaved. She was also more self-possessed and dignified than I had ever realized a dog could be,” says Dean. “Already and unexpectedly, she has changed me as a person and as a writer. I am only beginning to understand the nature of those changes and where they will lead me.”

DEAN KOONTZ thought he had everything he needed. A successful novelist with more than twenty #1 New York Times bestsellers to his credit, Dean had forged a career out of industry and imagination. Then along came Trixie.

Dean had always wanted a dog–had even written several books in which dogs were featured. But not until Trixie was he truly open to the change that such a beautiful creature could bring about in him. Trixie had intelligence, a lack of vanity, and an uncanny knack for living in the present. And because she was joyful and direct as all dogs are, she put her heart into everything–from chasing tennis balls, to playing practical jokes, to protecting those she loved.

A retired service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, Trixie became an assistance dog of another kind. She taught Dean to trust his instincts, persuaded him to cut down to a fifty-hour work week, and, perhaps most important, renewed in him a sense of wonder that will remain with him for the rest of his life. She mended him in many ways.

Trixie weighed only sixty-something pounds, Dean occasionally called her Short Stuff, and she lived less than twelve years. In this big world, she was a little thing, but in all the ways that mattered, including the effect she had on those who loved her, she lived a big life. Dean reads from his memoir in the video clip below.

DEAN KOONTZ thought he had everything he needed. A successful novelist with more

than twenty #1 New York Times bestsellers to his credit, Dean had forged a career

out of industry and imagination. He had been married to his high school sweetheart,

Gerda, since the age of twenty, and together they had made a happy life for

themselves in their Southern California home. It was the picture of peace and

contentment. Then along came Trixie.

Dean had always wanted a dog–had even written several books in which dogs were

featured. But not until Trixie was he truly open to the change that such a

beautiful creature could bring about in him. Trixie had intelligence, a lack of

vanity, and an uncanny knack for living in the present. And because she was joyful

and direct as all dogs are, she put her heart into everything–from chasing tennis

balls, to playing practical jokes, to protecting those she loved.

A retired service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, Trixie became an

assistance dog of another kind. She taught Dean to trust his instincts, persuaded

him to cut down to a fifty-hour work week, and, perhaps most important, renewed in

him a sense of wonder that will remain with him for the rest of his life. She

mended him in many ways.

Trixie weighed only sixty-something pounds, Dean occasionally called her Short

Stuff, and she lived less than twelve years. In this big world, she was a little

thing, but in all the ways that mattered, including the effect she had on those who

loved her, she lived a big life.

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