Well-written, simple and powerful, the book A Dog Who Follows Gladly is a beautiful and heartwarming tale that every dog lover should read. It explores stoic teachings in the form of a fable, and to top it off, the illustrations are beautiful.
“We’re free to choose how we feel about it, aren’t we?” the old dog said as he sat and watched the children run in the ranch yard. “There are chains on our collars, but no chains on our spirits. We can still decide to be happy — even tethered to a post.”
A Dog Who Follows Gladly
This book approaches the stoicism concept of Amor Fati, love your fate, through parables told from the perspective of a young dog. The illustrations are stunning, and they complement each page very well. It is a modern take on the ancient Stoic lesson.
“When a dog is tied to a cart, if it wants to follow, it is pulled and follows, making its spontaneous act coincide with necessity. But if the dog does not follow, it will be compelled in any case. So it is with men too: even if they don’t want to, they will be compelled to follow what is destined.“
Chrysippus of Soli
The parable of the dog and the cart is a famous lesson of Stoicism taught by Stoic philosopher Chrysippus more than 2 millennia ago. The parable is used to illustrate how we can live happier if we learn to accept the circumstances we have no control over.
I liked the book very much and had the opportunity to exchange a few emails with the author, Phil Van Treuren. Phil spent weeks crafting each of the book’s many illustrations.
Check out the introductory video of the book on YouTube:
It is a beautiful book and a great gift to adults and children alike. You can buy it directly from the Stoic Simple website.
https://www.stoicsimple.com/a-dog-who-follows-gladly/
Cheers,
Ademar
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