Kevin Kling, The Dog Says How (Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007).

Kevin Kling is a man who looks every day as an opportunity. He has already endured more than most of us can ever imagine. He transforms the meaning of disabled to direct our attention to his abilities and to identify with the reality that whatever abilities any of us possess are temporary.

Kling, his father and grandfather as well as a number of uncles, have all been struck by lightening. In Kling’s case, the strike was not disabling. It was another opportunity for which to be grateful. He writes, “From what I can tell, Hephaestus, the disabled god, was the only god that actually held down a job. It think that’s why Aphrodite, the most beautiful goddess of all, married him. He had a job.”

This collection of delightful essays challenges every reader to look at life in a new and refreshing way. Perhaps that is Kling’s greatest gift: the ability to inspire us to look through fresh eyes at the lives we live. This book is more than a “must read.” It is a “must read several times.” It is an antidote for self-centeredness.