Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him

by Luis Carlos Montalvan, Bret Witter (With)

Overview

A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier’s life forever.

A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalván never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover.

Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist people with disabilities. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being–until Luis.

Until Tuesday is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how, together, they healed each other’s souls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401310752
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/10/2012
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 - 12 Years

About the Author

Luis Carlos Montalván was a captain in the U.S. Army who served two combat tours in Iraq, where he earned the Combat Action Badge, two Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart. He was the bestselling author of Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him and two children's books, Tuesday Tucks Me In and Tuesday Takes Me There. He and Tuesday advocated for veterans and others with disabilities, tirelessly promoting the virtues of service dogs. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Bret Witter is the writer behind Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, which spent months on the Times bestseller List and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Read an Excerpt

"Tuesday combines a golden retriever's innate playfulness and bouncy exuberance with a noble bearing and seriousness of purpose. But it is not his beautiful coat, or even his regal attitude, that attract the stares. Tuesday has an extraordinarily expressive face. He has sensitive, almost sad eyes, but they are more than offset by his big goofy smile. He can't pass anyone without flashing them a sly look with those eyes, as if to say, sorry, I'd love to play, but I'm working. He just makes a connection; he has a personality that shines. I am not kidding when I say it is common for people to pull out their cell phones and take pictures of and with him. Tuesday is that kind of dog.

And then, in passing, they notice me, the big man with the tight haircut. There is nothing about me--even the straight, stiff way I carry myself--that signals disabled. Until people notice the cane in my left hand, that is, and the way I lean on it every few steps. Then they realize my stiff walk and straight posture aren't just pride, and that Tuesday isn't just an ordinary dog. He walks directly beside me, for instance, so that my right leg always bisects his body. He nuzzles me when my breathing changes, and he moves immediately between me and the object--a cat, an overeager child, a suspiciously closed door--any time I feel apprehensive. Because beautiful, happy-go-lucky, favorite-of-the-neighborhood Tuesday isn't my pet; he's my service dog."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preamble The First Look 1

Part I Tuesday

Chapter 1 Motherly Love 11

Chapter 2 Puppy Behind Bars 23

Chapter 3 The Lost Boys 37

Part II Luis

Chapter 4 Al-Waleed 49

Chapter 5 An American Soldier 64

Chapter 6 Anything but Stable 76

Chapter 7 Hard Decisions 85

Chapter 8 The Thought of Dogs 96

Part III Tuesday and Luis

Chapter 9 The First Choice 105

Chapter 10 Company 111

Chapter 11 The Right Dog 119

Chapter 12 The First Test 129

Chapter 13 Thanksgiving 137

Chapter 14 Smoked 149

Chapter 15 Cats and Dogs 158

Chapter 16 Hope and Change 166

Chapter 17 The Back of the Bus 172

Chapter 18 Tuesday's Handle 183

Chapter 19 Tuesday Talks 192

Chapter 20 Summer Days 201

Chapter 21 Crash and Groom 209

Chapter 22 The Little Things 217

Chapter 23 For Veterans Everywhere 225

Chapter 24 A Quiet Life 237

Epilogue Graduation Day 247

What People are Saying About This

Vicki Myron

This story of an incredible service dog is both touching and warm. . . . This book feels like more than a joy; it feels necessary. (Vicki Myron, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dewey)

Andrew J. Bacevich

"A deeply moving story of service, sacrifice, and restoration. Years from now when critics assemble the canon of Iraq War literature, look for Until Tuesday to make everyone's short list." (Andrew J. Bacevich, author of Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War)

Lee Woodruff

"Wow, what a book! I think I was crying on page 3. The collision of man and dog, and the unbreakable bond they form, made my heart leap. Everyone should read this book to better understand not only the ravages of war, but the amazing capacity of the human spirit to rebound. I dare anyone to read this book and not believe in the power of love to heal." (Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant [with Bob Woodruff] and Perfectly Imperfect)

Editorial Reviews

Returning home after two tours of duty in Iraq, former U.S. Army Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan's physical injuries and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) turn his life into a nightmarish existence. An email with a subject of "WWP and Puppies Behind Bars" alerted him to possible relief with the assistance of a service dog. This is his story but it is also the story of Tuesday, the intelligent, extensively trained but heartbroken golden retriever, who is chosen to become his service dog and constant companion.

Much more than a dog story or a personal memoir, this is one of those rare books that enable the reader to come away with a different worldview. Just as Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet showed us the world through the eyes of an Autistic Savant, with Until Tuesday, Montalvan leaves his readers with a better understanding of the PTSD-driven world of a combat veteran and the valuable and unique role service dogs can fill in that world. —Bruce T. Filbeck, Bookseller, #2696, Port Huron, MI

Man's best friend stars in this memoir by an Iraq vet who returns to New York and enlists the help of a golden retriever named Tuesday to help him re-acclimate in a new world marked by a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Montalván, a former captain of the US Army, is most compelling when zoning in on specifics, especially related to his psychological disorder: "The subway was a horror for my PTSD-addled brain, a nail-gripping, muscle-tensing ride in a claustrophobic tube full of faces my mind compulsively studied for signs of malicious intent." Although provided the assistance of a doctor and therapist, the commute to and from these sessions caused Montalván immense anxiety filled with hypothetical dangers. Public-speaking engagements similarly were racked with anxiety, and described vividly. Tuesday, a gentle golden retriever, became the perfect remedy for the veteran's neurosis. Though canine assistance and the Iraq war are both major characters, this is a valuable first-person glimpse into how someone with PTSD thinks. (May)

Publishers Weekly