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Author and activist Fatima Bhutto is set to launch her latest book, The Hour of the Wolf, a memoir about one of her favourite things in the world: dogs.

Set to launch on January 27 in the US, the book is based on Bhutto’s relationship with his little Jack Russell Terrier, Coco, who became her closest companion during her darkest times.

“It’s in the company of this loyal dog that Bhutto is finally able to examine some of her most profound personal tragedies and the complex relationships that have shaped her life”, according to a preview on Literary Hub, which the author shared on her Instagram.

From the tragic murder of her father to navigating love, a toxic, manipulative relationship, and the search for motherhood, the memoir reflects on the tumultuous bits of her life. In a social media promotion post for her upcoming memoir, Bhutto revealed how she suffered from anxiety pretty much all her life.

After having tried yoga, going vegetarian, going vegan, you name it, what actually helped with her panic attacks in her 20s were two things: her dog Coco, and welcoming the panic instead of fighting it.

“They [dogs] are somehow incredibly able to give you a love that is grounding and secure.”

The memoir centres on the themes of motherhood, art, family, and the way that a dog’s unconditional love can offer a rare opportunity for healing. Interestingly, though it also focuses on the role of friendship — specifically on how friends played their part in Bhutto’s journey of healing.

In another promotional post, Bhutto talked about friends as not just God’s apology for family but “for a lot of things”.

“I don’t think I would have survived any of my life if I weren’t incredibly lucky to have the friends that I did. And a friend once told me that friends are God’s apology for family. And I think friends are God’s apology for a lot of things,“ she said.

“Friendship is essential. Friendship is sustaining. And friendship is a bone-deep relationship. If you’re lucky to have those kinds of friends, they outlast everything else. They outlast familial ties, relationships, pets, school, whatever it is. They travel with you always.”

Hinting towards a specific friend, Allegra, she continued, “And I’ve been very lucky to have friends like Allegra who becomes many things in one.”

“I guess if you have those bone-deep friendships, there are many, many, many people in one body. And I hope I have been a good friend in the same way that friends have been to me,” Bhutto concluded.

The cover of the book is designed by Jon Gray (@gray.318 on Instagram), while Allegra took the author’s picture for the book. The picture shows Bhutto holding her terrier, Coco, who is seen peacefully sleeping in her arms.

The author has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian liberation both on social media and international forums. Last year, she co-edited an anthology titled Gaza: The Story of a Genocide as part of a literary intervention aimed at documenting and resisting the ongoing annihilation of Palestinian life in Gaza.