This novel was a very important one to me. I am not suffering from anxiety nor do I know anyone who does. Or so I thought. So reading this novel was not only very insightful it also taught me a lot about something so many people have to deal with.

A.F. Henley’s main characters, Thom and Justin, are absolutely lovely and likeable. And the story would not be the same without Dog. That furry little angel sneaked his way into Thom’s heart in a very touching scene. Despite what Thom is thinking of himself and is even convinced of what his anxiety made of him: the message here is that people having anxiety issues does not make them antisocial. One can easily see that the way Thom cares about Dog and how much his feelings for Dog grow over the time.

The other new guy in Thom’s life is his recently moved in neighbour Justin. Absolutely sweet in character and gorgeous looking. It is sad how he spiked Thom’s anxiety. Justin is honestly interested in Thom and does his best to not put pressure on Thom. Thom also has great interest in Justin but is convinced that any possible relationship would be doomed from the beginning.

Here A.F. Henley shows us and makes us understand how deeply anxiety goes and what it does to people. It is not simply a thing of being very scared about something. It leads to changes in personality on fundamental levels to a point that, in Thom’s case, they think they are a failure and unfixable.

One very short scene in this amazing novel shows how tragic Thom’s life is.

Justin spots Thom watching him from a window above and being the cheerful, good-natured man Justin is, he spreads out his arms before him as if he wants to joyfully embrace something. Thom was thinking about all the things that Justin might want to embrace but sadly it never occurs to Thom that it might be Thom himself Justin dedicated his gesture to.

Now all this sounds like ”But By the Grace of Dog“ is a very dreary story but by all means it is not. It deals with the matter of anxiety in a serious and honest way and gives it all the room it needs to explore it. But A.F. Henley very skillfully balanced it with beautiful and delightful, and yes, hot scenes.

”But By the Grace of Dog“ is a gorgeous novel that shows once again A.F. Henley’s wonderful ability to explore the human nature.