Book 12: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

My mom's dog, Riko (and a magazine article about Honey Boo Boo).

Ever since I can remember, there has always been at least one dog in our family. My mother is the origin of the dog love in our family. She loves animals but has a particular affinity for dogs, which seem to be more capable of love and forgiveness than, say, cats. Because we always had dogs around, my dad, brother and I all came to love them, as well. Today, we have 2 dogs: a poodle (Riko, above) and a chocolate lab (Linus, not pictured). 

In a major way, all dog owners are the same. No matter what breed of dog you prefer (or size or color, etc.), all dog owners love dogs and are linked by that special kind of empathy. Because of that empathy, all dog owners understand what their dogs are thinking and feeling at all times, despite the lack of a common language. Being a dog owner also comes with the acceptance that dogs might be smarter than us. It has been proven that they have heightened senses, despite there not being an evolutionary reason for those traits being so unfailingly passed on from generation to generation, across breeds. 

The hardest part of raising dogs is knowing that every day that they're with you is a step closer to their passing. After growing up with so many dogs in my lifetime, it's hard not to think about their finite lives every so often. Sometimes those thoughts come about during the happiest moments, too, like when they're doing something really adorable and you don't want the moment to end. Dogs bring out emotions in their owners because they are in touch with and reciprocate feelings. Unlike cats, who can be brooding and moody, dogs are always present, loyal and are capable of loving even when they don't get the same amount of love back. I am convinced that it is very hard to love a dog more than it loves you.

As much as I love dogs (and animals in general), I am dubious of movies or books that give human voices or emotions to dogs. Movies like Marley & Me were tear fests but I can't stick around for, say, Dogs vs. Cats. The dog food or heartworm medicine commercials with the voiceovers are really annoying. I belive dogs speak to their owners in their way, but I never give dogs voices as though I could possibly predict how they'd sound if they had voice boxes. Giving voices to dogs or animals takes away the intrigue and nonverbal communication that makes having pets so personal. So, when my friend Corey suggested that I read The Art of Racing in the Rain, I was instinctively guarded and less than enthusiastic to buy it. I waited awhile before picking it up, and I waited even longer to open the cover.

Once I started it, however, I was instantly hooked, I couldn't and didn't want to stop reading till it was 4AM and the sky had started to lighten with morning sun. The book is told from the perspective of Enzo, whose owner, Denny, is an aspiring racer. (When I first heard the title I automatically assumed that "racing" referred to the dog running very quickly.) The 321 page book is the entire account of Enzo's life, from his birth on a farm to his adoption, failing hips and his death. What makes Enzo special is that, unlike other beasts, he feels he has a higher purpose--that after he dies, he will be reborn as a human. The belief in reincarnation leads Enzo to live a life of discipline, empathy and loyalty. He recounts Denny's struggles to make it on the pro racing circuit, his marriage to Eve, the birth of his daughter, Eve's illness and death, and his custody battle and court case. It's a simplistic format that never tries to be more than it is, yet it's deeply philosophical and thought-provoking. Not only did it convince me that dogs always look out for the best interests of their owners, it also reassured me that, all those times I've stared into a dog's eyes and saw a soul, I wasn't crazy. 

Some of the best moments in the book were when Enzo applied what he learned about racing from Danny, to life:

On having no memory in racing: "No memory of things he'd done just a second before. Good or bad. Because memory is time folding back on itself. To remember is to diengage from the present. In order to reach any kind of success in automobile racing, a driver must never remember."

"A driver cannot be a witness to his own greatness. This is what Denny says. He says racing is doing. It is being a part of a moment and being aware of nothing else but that moment. Reflection must come at a later time." 

"I don't understand why people insist on pitting the concepts of evolution and creation against each other: Why can't they see that spiritualism and science are one? That bodies evolve and souls evolve and the universe is a fluid place that marries them both in a wonderful package called a human being. What's wrong with that idea?"

"First rule of racing: Never move aside to let someone pass; make him pass you."

"Drivers are afraid of the rain. Rain amplifies your mistakes and water on the track can make your car handle unpredictably. When something unpredicatble happens and you have to react to it; if you're reacting at speed, you're reacting too late. And you should be afraid."

"That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves."

"The physicality of our world is a boundary to us only if our will is weak; a true champion can accomplish things that a normal person would think impossible."

"A race car driver must be very selfish. It is a cold truth: even his family must come second to the race."

"In racing, they say that your car goes where your eyes go."

"What matters is not how precisely we can explain the event, but the event itself and its consequence."

"'If it was anybody's fault, it was mine for being where I could get collected.' This is something I'd heard him say before: getting angry at another driver is pointless...Any problems that may occur have ultimately been caused by you, because you are responsible for where you are and what you are doing there."

"I marveled at them both; how difficult it must be to be a person. To constantly subvert your desires. To worry about doing the right thing, rather than doing what is most expedient. At that moment, honestly, I had grave doubts as to my ability to interact on such a level. I wondered if I could ever become the human I hoped to be."

"The true hero is flawed. The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles--preferably of his own making--in order to triumph. A hero without a flaw is of no interest to an audience or the universe, which, after all, is based on conflict and opposition, the irresistible force meeting the immovable object."

"I believe that people were not so allergic to their environment until they began polluting themselves and their world with so many drugs and toxins. But then, nobody asked me."

"Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes things change, and we have to change, too."

"Do you see me? I'm not afraid of it anymore. I wanted you to be with me before because I wanted you to protect me, but I'm not afraid of it anymore. Because it's not the end."

"While doctors are able to help many people, for her, they could only tell her what couldn't be done. And I knew that once they identified her disease for her, once everyone around her accepted her diagnosis and reinforced it and repeated it back to her time and again, there was no way she could stop it. The visible becomes inevitable. Your car goes where your eyes go."

"She died that night. Her last breath took her soul, I saw it in my dream. I saw her soul leave her body as she exhaled, and then she had no more needs, no more reason; she was released from her body, and, being released, she continued her journey elsewhere, high in the firmament where soul material gathers and plays out all the dreams and joys of which we temporal beings can barely conceive, all the things that are beyond our comprehension, but even so, are not beyond our attainment if we choose to attain them, and believe we truly can."

"Racing is about discipline and intelligence, not always who has the heavier foot. The one who drives smart will always win in the end."

"People are always worried about what's happening next. They often find it difficult to stand still, to occupy the now without worrying about the future. People are not generally satisfied with what they have; they are very concerned with what they are going to have."

"If we're going to be a cliche, let's be a positive cliche."

"The race is long--to finish first, first you must finish."

"It is a rare person who can hear the blunt authority of a terminal diagnosis, refuse to accept it, and choose a different path."

"We are all afforded our physical existence so we can learn about ourselves."

"I suddenly realized. The zebra. It is not something outside of us. The zebra is something inside of us. Our fears. Our own self-destructive nature. The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-to-face with our worst times. The demon is us!"

"There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose."

"A winner, a champion, will accept his fate. He will continue with his wheels in the dirt. He will do his best to maintain his line and gradually get himself back on the track when it is safe to do so. Yes, he loses a few places in the race. Yes, he is at a disadvantage. But he is still racing. He is still alive."

"People speak of a will to live. They rarely speak of a will to die. Because people are afraid of death. Death is dark and unknown and frightening. But not for me. It is not the end."

"I know this much about racing in the rain. I know it is about balance. It is about anticipation and patience. I know all of the driving skills that are necessary for one to be successful in the rain. But racing in the rain is also about the mind! It is about owning one's own body. About believing that one's car is merely an extension of one's body. About believing that the track is an extension of the car, and the rain is an extension of the track, and the sky is an extension of the rain. It is about believing that you are not you; you are everything. And everything is you."

"Racers are often called selfish and egotistical. I myself have called race car drivers selfish; I was wrong. To be a champion, you must have no ego at all. You must not exist as a separate entity. You must give yourself over to the race...Do not mistake confidence and self-awareness for egotism."

"When a dog dies, his soul is released to run until he is ready to be reborn. I remember."

"La macchina va dove vanno gli occhi." (The car goes where the eyes go.)

After reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, I finally understood what Corey was talking about all those times we were lying in the tent, staring up at the ceiling. He'd go on and on about cars and racing: the physicality, the emotion, the sensation, the "vroom" sound of a robust engine. How Subarus were the best racing cars and how street racing is a culture, not just a (foolish, dangerous) hobby. Reading about racing through the eyes of a dog, whose own philosophy is dedication to his owner and the assurance that he would one day become a human, somehow connected me to my good friend. It turns out that racing in the rain, and racing in general, is an esoteric, primal activity, much more about soul and flow than technology and horsepower. It's an excellent metaphor for life, for so many reasons, and it depends on tapping into innate intuition and our will to survive. Racing is a religion and a perspective that forms the participant, becomes part of their life and influences the way they see the rest of the world. We can learn a lot from racing, just as we can learn a lot if we consider ourselves from the point of view of our dogs. 

Rating: A