A year of cats and dogs

"What happens when nothing happens? Maryanne wonders in A Year of Cats and Dogs, a darkly funny yet hopeful novel about a woman in mid-life who feels surrounded by death. She answers her own question by deciding to find out."I wanted to embrace entropy, to stop working so hard at keeping things up, to go AWOL from the productive world I'd so long been a part of," she tells us at the beginning of the novel ..."@en
"Maryanne is the 49-year-old owner of Clement, an orange cat, and Bob, a seven-year-old Rottweiler. Ex-boyfriend Phillip has just moved out, ending their 10-year relationship, which leaves Maryann feeling blah, so she resolves to go AWOL from the productive world. After she quits her job, her life consists mostly of drinking tea, walking her dog and cooking dreary meals for one (occasionally for two, when her aging father stops by). Then she realizes she has a gift for speaking with animals, which segues into a part-time gig at an animal shelter. As Maryanne recasts her life, Hawkins inserts quirky recipes (Quitting Your Job and Vowing to Be Frugal Stew, Chicken Soup for the Sad) into the unhurried and lighthearted narrative."@en