Rescuing Finley. . . Forever Home #1 by Dan Walsh

Amy Wallace has made plenty of mistakes in her young life, but she didn’t see this one coming. Chris Seger is a marine serving in Afghanistan. His life is forever altered by a single, fateful step. A mother of another Afghan war vet suffers a devastating loss, which changes the course of Finley’s life for good. Finley is a mostly golden retriever, who suddenly finds himself alone and confused in a dog shelter. Later, he’s brought to a local prison to be trained in a special program for female inmates. Could this prison actually become the place where Finley finally finds his freedom? Rescuing Finley tells the story of how one rescue dog powerfully impacts three tragic lives and puts all of them on a road toward redemption and healing.

Dan Walsh's debut novel, The Unfinished Gift, won 2 Carol Awards and has been published in several editions and different languages. It continues to be an Amazon bestseller during the Christmas season 5 years later and has sold over 50,000 copies.

With the sequel, The Homecoming, book reviewers began to liken Dan's writing to Nicholas Sparks. Dan's 3rd novel, The Deepest Waters, earned his 3rd Carol Award for Best Short Historical. His 4th novel, Remembering Christmas became his first national bestseller and was a finalist for Inspirational Book of the Year.

Since then, Dan has written 13 more novels, including a 4-book fiction series with Gary Smalley. The Discovery and The Reunion, both stand-alones, were also named finalists for RT's Inspirational Book of the Year and both have over 350 5-Star reviews on Amazon. The Reunion has also been optioned for full-length feature film.

Dan released his first indie-published novel, When Night Comes in Nov 2014. It is the first book in the Jack Turner suspense series. He plans to release the sequel early in 2016. He's also just released Rescuing Finley, the first in the Forever Home series, a new trilogy of books that will also feature dogs as a main character.

Dan lives in the Daytona Beach area with his wife, Cindi, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. They've been married for 38 years and have 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.

My Take~ I am a dog lover and a huge fan of Dan Walsh, so when he asked me to review this book I was thrilled to say the least. This book is about healing, rescuing not only Finley the dog, but rescuing those involved with Finley. Dan shows beautifully how an animal, specifically a dog just by their presence and love can heal a broken heart, fear of the future, and the pain of the past.
This is a must read, I guarantee you won't be sorry.