The author devotes about a third of this book to the 1980s farm crisis and its effects on a Midwest small town, another third to her own personal history, and the remaining third to Dewey the cat and his effect on the citizens of Spencer. Dewey was essentially a therapy cat to the entire depressed community, and he was exceptionally good at his job. I would have liked to read more about that, but I got the feeling there just weren't enough anecdotes to fill an entire book. It was a bit tiring to read a biography that tilted the balance more toward "his times and life" rather than "his life and times."