I was really surprised at this book. First of all I have to say that for those who are looking for solely the story of an animal this is not the book for you. While the book is constructed around the subject of Oscar it actually delves much deeper into life and living with people with dementia. I did not anticipate this book being as emotionally taxing as it was, and was surprised to find myself thinking of and analyzing deep questions about what it means to be alive and how we deal with death. A surprising book for sure.