First Quarter Book Club

I Am Bunny by Alexis Devine

Once a quarter Mary Robinette hosts a book club for her Patreon members and March’s book will be I Am Bunny by Alexis Devine. Join by subscribing to her Patreon at the Book Club and Classes level or by purchasing a one time access ticket on Eventbrite. All book club’s are recorded and the recording is made available to the Patrons and Evenbrite ticket holders after the event. The first 20 minutes or so of each book club is Mary Robinette asking her questions and then she opens the floor to the Patrons to join in the conversation.

It is not required that you read the book prior to coming but it is encouraged! If you need to purchase the book head on over to bookshop.org which will let your purchase support an independent bookstore.

About the Author

Alexis Devine is an artist and entrepreneur hailing from Seattle, Washington. She was a longtime creator of wearable art before her sheepadoodle, Bunny, known as “What About Bunny” on social media, became an internet sensation in the fall of 2020. Bunny is part of an ongoing canine cognition research study at the Comparative Cognition Lab at UCSD. Alexis is a Licensed Family Dog Mediator, Fear Free Certified Professional, and Certified Canine Enrichment Tech-nician. Her goal is to further our understanding of the power of connection and importance of empathy, meeting her dogs where they are and understanding them on their terms first to facilitate trust and promote an environment that supports them as the incredible creatures they are.

About the Book

When Bunny, a fluffy, black-and-white sheepadoodle, was eight weeks old, her guardian Alexis presented her with an odd gift: a button programed to say “outside” when pressed. Within a few weeks, Bunny was using it all the time and Alexis, encouraged by Bunny’s progress, continued to introduce more buttons and more words . . .

Three years later, Bunny can now communicate using over one hundred buttons, stringing together important, relatable, philosophical phrases such as “Love you Mom,” “Dad went poop,” and “Ugh why?” In I Am Bunny, a memoir in essays and beautiful, full-color photographs, Alexis chronicles not only how Bunny learned to “talk,” but also the profound impact their journey has had on her life. Caring for Bunny has revealed to Alexis a path to self-acceptance, if not complete self-love, and as their relationship developed and their ability to communicate deepened, Alexis was able to reflect on and reframe her past traumas in a newly vulnerable and healing way. Helping Bunny through her fear and reactivity allowed Alexis to examine these qualities in herself, and as she created a safe space for Bunny, she too found space for her own healing.

Through charming anecdotes about day-to-day life with Bunny, explorations into prior animal language studies, and plenty of irreverent humor, daring, and heart, Alexis tells the story of how she and Bunny have become so inspiringly close, and explores the ancient and unique bond between dog and guardian that so many of us know leads to a deeper, more meaningful life.

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