Who knew that a little pug named Oliver could have such impact on a family. Alison Hodgson had no idea until she picked up her daughter Eden’s diary. Well, it wasn’t called a diary because 7-year-old Eden couldn’t spell that. It was called The Pug List.

As you listen to this week’s podcast, your heart will be tugged in all kinds of directions. It’s a story of a family who lost everything when an arsonist set their house on fire. I’ll let the details come out in the podcast, or the book. What you need to know is that mom, and author of The Pug List, Alison Hodgson, is an amazing storyteller. She is a writer, speaker and humorist. She is a popular contributor to the design website Houzz.com and a Moth StorySLAM winner. You can find her writing all over the place: Forbes.com, Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog, and Religion New Service. She and her husband, their three children, and two good dogs live outside Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As Alison started to unfold the story from The Pug List on the podcast, and as I read the book (I couldn’t put it down), I found myself face to face with some of my own grief. Tears filled my eyes not just from Alison’s story and her family’s struggle. Her writing took me deeper, which is what good writing does.

If you’ve ever been up close and personal with trauma or struggled with PTSD, you will resonate on many levels with Alison’s story. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I won’t give too much away. Just know that there are tears during the podcast, and I’m sure there will be tears when you listen to the podcast and read The Pug List. I’m recommending it to everyone as a great summer read!