A Dog For Maggie (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781979571784)

Emily Henry Mackin (1987-2013) is a California-born, Mississippi-raised author whose life was tragically cut short by a brain tumor. The oldest of four children born to an educator and a journalist, Mackin developed a love for reading at an early age. Rowling, Austen, Brontë, Tolkien, Hemingway, and Alexie were among early influences. The valedictorian of her high school in Columbus, Mississippi, and a National Merit Scholar, Mackin went on to graduate at the top of her class at Spring Hill College and was pursuing a master's degree at the College of William and Mary when afflicted with the pineoblastoma that ultimately ended her life. Incredibly, she wrote her seminal novel, A Dog for Maggie, over a one-month period following excruciating medical treatments that included major brain surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The novel reflects Mackin's life-long affection for dogs. Mackin married the love of her life, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ben Mackin, six months before she died peacefully surrounded by family and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Dash, on Mother's Day.