81 books like Bringing Me Dreams

I wrote the foreword for Sophie...Best Friends are Forever because I believe in its message about the healing power of therapy dogs. In this book, Ted Slupik shares the story of his rough-coated collie Sophie, a loyal friend who eagerly visited patients in hospitals and nursing homes with him each week for more than 12 years. Sophie’s uncanny ability to connect with and comfort people at dark or challenging moments is sure to move you, as will Sophie’s greatest lesson: that every day is a gift. Here’s a happy and important side note: All net proceeds from sales of this book go to Lizzy’s Fund, another one of my favorite charities that helps senior dogs in need.

Here’s a book about being shy in a world that rewards the bold. 

Sugar is the beloved therapy dog at school. She puts people at ease. Kids, teachers, parents, all give her pets. But not Hannah. Whenever it’s her turn, she shrinks away. Then, when Sugar gets lost, Hannah finds herself reaching out to calm her. Her fear evaporates when Sugar’s the one in need. Kate Berube evokes Hannah’s quiet bravery with a beautifully-timed wordless scene. 

When I was Hannah’s age, I was shy too. I hid when I thought my teacher was going to give me a shot. But her “syringe” was just a fountain pen. As she wrote my name, my fear evaporated. I could have used a dog like Sugar. Or a book like this.

My kids and I loved this heartwarming story about a little girl, Madeleine, and Bonnie, the library dog who loves being read to. We were rooting for Madeleine to read to her new kind and patient dog friend! The kids mentioned how much they wanted to meet Bonnie and read to her, and wondered if our local library has events with reading dogs. They also wanted an immediate re-read. (Of course, my family likes books with adorable cuddly dogs in general.)

Tender Branson, the last survivor of the Creedish Church cult, has hijacked an airplane, which is flying on autopilot. His mission now is to dictate his life story onto its black box before the plane crashes.

Survivor is an innovative and erudite social commentary, brimming with satirical observations. Amongst the targets for its irreverent dark humour are death, The Bible, and suicide hotlines. In this reader’s opinion, Survivor is a work of undoubted genius, and one of the author’s best novels.

Have you ever traveled somewhere, and something doesn’t feel right? There is a world of travelers, nomads, and homeless who live lives none of us can explain or understand. Their world includes strange disappearances or accidents, and authorities who ignore or hide the truth. If you start digging for answers, it might make some people uncomfortable. This is a riveting yarn of a sister who refuses to just let it go and move on with her life. Her fierce determination for answers leads her into her own fight for survival. A can’t put it down thrill ride.

You Don’t Have to Die in the End is just the sort of book I’d hand to a student who struggled with finding anything relatable. Eugenia Grimm could be down to her last chance when she is sent to Reason’s Wait, a facility for troubled teens. Because of her troubled past, she has programmed herself to lock horns with any adult who tries to cross—or help—her. I cringed during her tempestuous exchanges with social workers, staff, and fellow “inmates”—hoping one of them would find a way to save this bitter, angry girl from herself. Spoiler alert: As Daher’s title suggests, Eugenia’s train wreck of a life is salvaged in the end.

Set against the backdrop of the sociopolitical turmoil of the 1960s, James Baldwin’s Another Country captures a diverse group of friends in cities both foreign and domestic (NYC and France) who are struggling with interconnected issues of race, sexuality, gender, and class.

As history repeats itself in the 21st century, there is wisdom in reviewing how people survived the last round of radical social upheaval. They did so without losing themselves, nor their opportunities to forge meaningful human connections in the melee.

How do you learn from ex-lovers? How do you make peace with the dead? How do you stay sane when the world is hassling you over unchangeable characteristics you’re working to embrace rather than despise? These characters are trying to build something real on shifting sands, and their stories are still relatable today.

Gayle Brandeis’s intimate memoir of wrestling with her mother’s suicide following a long mental illness kept me company in the ways it mirrored my own experience. It is sometimes easier to mourn a stranger’s pain, as you edge towards your own grief. Brandeis’s reading through her mother’s letters, with their paranoid delusions and grandiose aspirations, “passionate and creatively punctuated,” rang true to my father’s crazy literary outpourings. Her experiences of entering her mother’s home to witness the evidence of her last activities, to the almost physical trauma of learning the stark details of her mother’s suicide method, comforted me in their familiarity. The suicide of a mentally ill parent leaves a lot of guilt and confusion in its wake. Anger and resentment aren’t what one “should” feel after a death of a parent, but Brandeis doesn’t sugarcoat the complex mess of emotions that needs to be untangled. 

Who does not know about Seppuku, or Hara-kiri (also incorrectly said as Hari-Kari)? Andrew in his book gives a great in-depth discussion about its history, its customs, and its position in Japanese society. I have no idea why this book is not a best seller. I know I have used it in my own books more than once. People think they know about ritual suicide in Japanese culture, but more often than not it is “movie knowledge” and Andrew’s book is a solid piece of research on the subject, it should be in every samurai fan’s book collection. 

Up for a small-town Southern church lady amateur sleuth that kicks ass? After reading Danielle Arceneaux’s cozy-defying debut, my answer is yes!

Story hero Glory Broussard is a small-time bookie, loyal friend, exasperating mother, and intrepid detective. I found myself shaking my head, thinking Oh, no she didn’t! And loving her for it! I admire Arceneaux for crafting Glory as a complicated, hilarious, and surprising character—in other words, a stellar protagonist who is utterly and truly unique.

And there’s more. The bayou setting, Glory’s coffee shop hangout, local criminals, and small-town gossipy intrigue all meld into a steamy, irresistible plot I couldn’t get enough of.