Every single sentence in this book is absolutely true. I sometimes say: why write fiction when real life is so varied and fascinating? 

Anne Abel – 28 August 2024

The Back Flap

Anne grew up in an abusive home, leading to severe depression and a determination to do better as a mother. One of her sons wants a dog from the time he is a baby; Anne very much does not. For years she appeases him with creatures who live in cages and tanks, but on his tenth birthday she can no longer say no—and she proceeds to fall in love with their new four-legged family member, Mattie. Then Mattie dies a sudden and tragic death, and Anne feels herself begin to sink back into depression.

Trying to cope, she immediately adopts Milo—a dog who, unbeknownst to her, has already been returned to the rescue by several families due to his aggressive behavior. But even after she realizes Milo is dangerous, she’s committed to trying to give him a chance at a good life.

Anne’s journey takes the reader from dog school into the deep woods as she perseveres with Milo’s lifelong rehabilitation and her unwavering efforts to be a good mother to her sons. Working with Milo strengthens Anne and expands her ability to love. Ten years later, when Milo dies, Anne faces another choice: close the door to that part of her heart, or risk loving another dog after two tragic losses?

About the book

What is the book about?

On the surface Mattie, Milo, and Me is about my unwittingly rescuing Milo––an out-of-control, aggressive, dangerous dog––the day after my sweet, perfect Wheaten Terrier, Mattie, was killed in our driveway by a UPS truck. But, even after I got Milo home and realized how dangerous he was, I did not have the heart to send him back to his bed of rags at the rescue. We also think he was likely sedated at the rescue when we saw him. (We would later learn that we were the third family in 18 months he had been placed with.) Just the same, he was everything anyone would not want in a dog. And I knew nothing about training dogs of any kind. But I was determined to try to help Milo live a good life.

As a parent to three sons, I was determined to nurture their individuality and help them be who they wanted to be. The same was true with Milo. I wanted to help him become the happiest, best Milo he could be, even if it required me to do things I did not want to do or did not think I could do. Being Milo’s person taught me many things. One of the most important things was that if you are open to new experiences, you can find joy in unexpected places. Milo expanded my ability to love. He didn’t seem lovable initially, but …I was soon in love.

This book is also about coping with depression, abusive parents and striving to be a better parent to my three sons than my parents were to me. In short, this book is about life.

When did you start writing the book?

I was in the third edition of a different manuscript and the editor was taking longer than usual to get it back to me. It was during the pandemic lockdown. A friend kept nagging me to write about Milo. I did not want to. I suffer with severe writer’s block. I didn’t think I could do it. Then I found 50 pages I had written 15 years earlier. I started with that and wrote an entire first draft in a couple of months. When I finished it, I realized it was a more straightforward story than the one I’d been working on. So I told the editor we should concentrate on this one and try to get it into the world. I’d go back to the original one later (which is exactly what I did). The initial manuscript, A Sunny Day Bruce Springsteen and Me will be published Sept 23, 2025, Bruce Springsteen’s 76th birthday, by She Writes Press.

How long did it take you to write it?

Hard to say for sure. About a year. Maybe 2 years from beginning to final edits.

In addition to needing something to do during the lockdown while I waited for the manuscript to come back from the editor: In 2019 I won a Moth StorySLAM in NYC telling the story of Milo. For months after, people would come up to me wanting to know more about Milo, about Milo and me. So many people are interested in dogs, though this book is about more than just dogs (as described above).

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

There is one story in the book about my father throwing my beagle puppy down the stairs and killing him for peeing on the rug when I was seven. In the first couple drafts I just mentioned that this had happened. Then my editor told me to “dig deeper.” I sat down at my computer and, expectedly, it was difficult to relive this horrific episode in my life. To this day it is hard for me to read it and really think about what I am reading. It is very sad – for both the puppy and for the little abused seven-year-old girl who experienced this at the hands of her violent father.

The first chapter of the book when Mattie is killed was also difficult to relive and write.

What came easily?

Just channeling Milo and his/our antics, and remembering the wonderful moments with him was more fun to write.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Every single sentence in this book is absolutely true. I sometimes say: why write fiction when real life is so varied and fascinating?

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I love Mary Karr, Tara Westover and Lucy Grealy. Lucy was my first teacher at the MFA program I attended when I went back to school as part of a midlife change. When I write, though, I just write. I don’t think about anyone else. That would stifle and confuse me and shut me down. I actually suffer from severe writer’s block!

Do you have a target reader?

Mattie, Milo, and Me is for people who like dogs and even people who don’t like dogs. For parents trying to be good parents. For people struggling with depression. For people brought up by abusive parents. For people who want a story that is sad and funny but also hopeful and inspiring!

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I suffer with severe writer’s block. As a freelance writer for many years, I could write about ANYTHING an editor asked me to write about. But, if I came up with an idea, particularly one about myself, within one minute of sitting down at my computer a voice in my head would begin, “So what? Who cares?” And that was the end of a story that would never be. Then in 2014, due to violence in the community college classroom where I taught, I walked out the door early in the semester and thought, “I am never coming back.” But as soon as I put the key in the ignition and began heading home, I was panicking. I suffer with severe depression, and I was terrified of falling into the abyss of depression, now that I did not have the structure and focus of the classroom. As I was merging onto the expressway home I thought, “I know. I’ll go to Australia in four months and see Bruce Springsteen’s High Hopes tour.” A year earlier at the age of 59 I had gone to my first concert ever with my son and daughter-in-law––a Bruce Springsteen concert, a man I knew nothing about. As the crowd mysteriously rose in unison, I rose too. And up on the screen was the face of a man with the biggest, kindest smile I had ever seen. And for the next three-plus hours, that man’s energy, humanity and enthusiasm lifted me. For the next three-plus hours Bruce Springsteen made me feel like I had a chance. So the day I quit my job, even though I hate to travel and hate being alone, I went home and booked the trip. In 4.5 months I’d be going to Australia alone for 26 days, to five cities, to see eight concerts. I was terrified. I was not going for fun. I was going for structure and focus to try to stay out of the depression abyss. I did not go to change. But, change I did….

I knew this was a story. But, I could not write it. (I told the travel agent, “I want to do only three things in Australia: See eight concerts, work out and write.”) I was actually shocked by the desire to write. I hadn’t thought about writing in the five years I’d been teaching. But my will to survive and my will to be happy somehow pumped up the desire to write.

Two years later, while living in Chicago, my new dog walker said she also hosted a storytelling open mic. I had never heard of storytelling in that way, and soon after, I took a six-week storytelling class. I came up with a seven-minute story about the Australia trip and told it at an open mic. People loved it. And I began working on more seven-minute stories, eventually winning Moth StorySLAMs in Chicago and New York.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

No no no. No chapter headings, nothing. I just write. I am fairly linear, but I go off on applicable tangents and then come back.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

If I edited as I went, I would delete everything. I write it. Give it to my husband. He is meticulous when it comes to grammar and copy editing. And that’s it. It is painful for me to read what I write.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I had a freelance editor for the first drafts. Then I used a copy editor at She Writes Press..

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

No no no … my writer’s block is debilitating. But I found when I was writing my manuscripts that it was helpful to end a writing session in the middle of an anecdote or story. That way when I sat down the next day, I would have a jumping off point. By the time I finished that story or anecdote, my writing muscles were warmed up and it was easier to move to the next part of the story.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

No. I am 71. I was 69 when I finished my manuscript. I didn’t think I had time to spend looking for agents. I wanted to get my story out into the world while I was still alive.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

When I lived in Chicago, I met an acquaintance who was a storyteller. As I was finishing my manuscript, I saw on Facebook that she had just published a memoir with She Writes Press.. So I also submitted to She Writes Press.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

She Writes Press handled the cover.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I hired Books Forward!

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I have had good experiences with She Writes Press and Books Forward.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Suburban Boston. I also lived in suburban Philadelphia for 35 years when we were raising our sons.

Where do you live now?

New York City since 2018.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I suffer with severe depression and writer’s block. But I work really hard to cope with both and move forward. If you’re also suffering from those things, there’s hope.

What are you working on now?

I am just now working on the tip sheet for A Sunny Day Bruce Springsteen and Me: A Memoir and preparing to send it out into the world and then to follow it!! And, I am still working on promoting Mattie, Milo, and Me.

End of Interview:

For more from Anne Abel visit her website and follow her on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

Get your copy of Mattie, Milo, and Me from Amazon US or Amazon UK.