When Mia moved in with Jim, the man of her dreams, she had no idea that she was also taking on Eddie, the dog of her nightmares . . . . When Mireya (Mia) Navarro met Jim, she instantly recognized her good fortune. She had a job she loved, as a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times , friends across the country, family not too far away in Puerto Rico, and now a partner with whom she could finally share it all. But even the best relationships have their rubs, and in Mia’s case, it was Jim’s mutt. Eddie was squat, spotted, stubborn, and hell-bent on boxing out the new intruder. To Jim, Eddie was family. To Mia, he was the enemy. Eddie was a hostile presence - a bad housemate, a conniver, a relentless shedder. He misbehaved specifically for Mia’s benefit, barked like a maniac whenever she walked into a room, and tried to steal her husband’s attention like a jealous mistress. Mia quickly found herself in a full-on war with her husband’s pet doing anything she could to get him out of her already hectic life. She slammed the door in Eddie’s face, cordoned off the house into dog and wife territories, and even tried to leave the scoundrel in California when she and Jim relocated to New York. But as time went on, Mia began to reassess Eddie. Was he the entire problem, or just the last straw after the difficulty of establishing her place as a stepmom and second wife? As Eddie started to grow old and senile enough to forget the worst of his grievances against her, Mia grew more forgiving of him, and realized that the stepdog is just another challenge that blended families must face. A triumphant story about discovering love, Stepdog reminds us of the many unforeseen obstacles - not only of the four-legged variety - that can get in the way on the road to happily ever after. Praise for Stepdog ‘I adore this book. Alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, Stepdog is an extraordinary chronicle of romance, marriage, blended families, career juggling, and an obstreperous dog, written with a journalist’s eye for detail, and a novelist’s insight for character. Mireya Navarro is a wonderful writer who reminds us that in the end, love and compassion conquers all - even a cantankerous canine.’ Bruce Feirstein, bestselling author and contributing editor, Vanity Fair ‘In Stepdog , Navarro reminds us that our companions (human and animal) challenge our assumptions, force us to compromise and give us plenty of opportunities for hard lessons. A charming, funny, poignant memoir about love, life and family.’ Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican and Conquistadora
