Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Emily. She was naive. She met Sandy and fell in love and married him and never realized.. or I should say she refused to see what was in front of her.. that Sandy was a bad husband and a horrible person.

Sandy didn't even realize this about himself... until he was dead. Upon his death, Sandy strikes a deal with the "grim reaper" of sorts. The deal is: he gets a second chance, but under the Grim Reaper's terms. The grim reaper's terms: Sandy must fix things from the body of a dog. As the Grim Reaper so bluntly states: Sandy was a dog as a man. Things are just being reversed.

What follows is a tale full of heartache, anger, and realization. Heartache because Emily must find herself again. She's struggling in her job, falling into a slump of depression. What she had with Sandy... wasn't. Anger because as the book unfolds, it becomes appalling to the reader how Sandy treated Emily. And even as Einstein, he's a jerk sometimes, thinking thoughts of hate and jealousy. Sandy had numerous affairs, made Emily pay for stuff just to be spiteful (She isn't the wealthy one), and even in his death is denying her their very own home. Realization because I felt this book really makes one look deep into their own selves. I found myself pondering why we, humans, treat people the way we do sometimes.

The narrative goes back and forth between Emily and Einstein (Sandy) and I thought the dog's parts were superbly done.

-Instantly, I was set upon. Noses up my hindquarters, muzzles in my face. Good God Almighty. "Back off," I barked.

-I put up with the attention as best I could until an overly amorous poodle tried to have her way with me. I had dated models more discreet that that blasted poodle. So really what was I supposed to do? I turned on the went and snapped at her.

I have one quibble with this book: Too often, Emily is a pushover, especially with her sister, Jordan. I couldn't stand Jordan. If I had a sister like that, I would check myself into the nearest orphanage.

However, with Einstein's help, Emily just may get her life together... Can she run a marathon? Save her job? Find love? Keep her apartment? Forgive Sandy? All with the help of a dog....

Five stars. I won this on Library Thing.