Melinda Roth

An ultimately uplifting lesson on life and love that only a special bond can bring. What happens when the indelible bond between a man and a dog formed in the harshest of conditions is put the test? Moving and uplifting, here is the long-awaited updated edition of The New York Times best-selling From Baghdad with Love. Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman went to extraordinary lengths to bring back to America the puppy his combat-hardened Marines rescued in war-torn Fallujah—called the “most dangerous city on Earth.” That tense journey back to peacetime America was the easy part, they would learn. By the time they returned home, Lava and Lt. Col. Kopelman were kindred spirits, bound by the chaos they had shared in Iraq. From hardened soldiers to wartime journalists to endangered Iraqi citizens, From Baghdad, With Love told the unforgettable true story of an unlikely band of heroes who learn unexpected lessons about life, death, and war from a mangy little flea-ridden refugee. Lt. Col. Kopelman won the hearts of readers everywhere with his moving story of adopting Lava. This revised and updated edition takes readers back to America and new challenges both Lt. Col. Kopelman and Lava faced—what millions of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan faced: Trying to live normal lives after chaotic life-and-death combat tours. As they settled back into life far from Iraq and war, he and Lava learned that while they both faced daily challenges, they had each other, and that bond proved to be all they needed. The transition was not easy but with each other’s love they would survive. Theirs was a passage ripe with answers and inspiration for anyone.

Exhausted by her job as a political press secretary, Melinda Roth found the courage to escape. Her goal: a simpler life in rural Illinois that would let her pursue her passion for writing. But then real life intervened. A fire at a neighboring farm and a misinterpreted gesture of kindness transformed her into the reluctant caretaker of a homeless menagerie of animals. Roth, coauthor of the New York Times-bestseller From Baghdad with Love, writes vividly, movingly, and often humorously of the chaos that descended into her life. One of her new tenants was a wild mustang, broken but not bowed, his restless spirit propelling him to escape the fences and pens that enclosed him—a far different life than before he was violently captured by a government-sponsored "round-up." Ultimately these two fiercely independent characters each provide the catalyst for the other's life-changing and life-affirming decisions. Mestengo is a captivating, emotional account that taps into readers' love of animals: Marley and Me meets The Horse Whisperer. An entertaining and delightful read, it is a cinematic, sometimes tense, but always beautiful story of the power of healing.

During the US-led attack on Fallujah, Iraq, Marines find a tiny puppy left behind when most of the city's population fled before the bombing. Despite military law that forbids the keeping of pets, the Marines de-flea, de-wormand feed him. Thus begins the dramatic rescue attempt of a dog named Lava and Lava's rescue of at least one Marine.

Considers the work of Randy Grim, the founder of the Stray Rescue of St. Louis who is considered one of the nation's leading dog rescuers, describing his efforts to address a growing national health problem of feral dogs and his dedication to rescuing and rehabilitating them. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.