"The Joy of Lex: Life with a Service Dog" is a light-hearted romp recounting life with Lex, a black Lab. Beginning with Lexie's being teamed with me and our schooling together at Canine Companions for Independence, the book then offers glimpses at our life together at home and shows how we interact with the outside world. Its vignettes, all accompanied by color photographs, describe life with the best service dog in the world: they reveal how Lex works -- tugging off my socks, opening a door, turning on a light, picking up my dropped mouthstick, and more -- tasks Lex was trained to perform. They even reveal how this intelligent dog performs tasks he was not trained to do, as when he saved me from certain injury by righting my wheelchair during a serious mishap. These poems also show how Lex plays and they demonstrate his marvelous personality. Sonnets in various forms, they are all straightforward; there is nothing deep in them except for the profound love I have for this wonderful dog who brings so much joy to my life.
Dean Koontz, the author of many best sellers, said in his Introduction for "The Joy of Lex: Life with a Service Dog," "In this collection of sonnets, John Thomas Clark captures perfectly the details of his life with an assistance dog, relishes the beauty of small moments, and celebrates the grace that waits for us in every moment of the day if only we will open our eyes and our hearts to the recognition of it."
Derek Mahon, a foremost poet of Ireland whose work enjoys worldwide acclaim, has said in his back-cover testimonial for "The Joy of Lex: Life with a Service Dog," "I am honoured to be associated with this book... It is... a pleasure to recommend this accomplished and original poet."
"The Joy of Lex: Life with a Service Dog" has fifty-six poems which are accompanied by fifty-six color photographs. This book has been professionally edited by Diane Buccheri, Editor and Publisher of OCEAN Magazine and again by Eve Hanninen, Editor and Publisher of The Centrifugal Eye. Many of the thirty-five Lexie sonnets published in various literary journals and magazines are included in The Joy Lex. Others are published here for the first time.
