Romancing the neighborhood in Linda Leuzzi’s ‘Car Dogs’

After decades covering local news, award-winning author and journalist, Linda Leuzzi, has become a well-known fixture in her community and beyond. In her most recent book, “Car Dogs,” Leuzzi weaves her life experiences along with a deep respect and love for her neighborhood into a very interesting, funny and inspiring novel.

The story is about a bright, flighty teenager with an active imagination that has gotten her into a few scrapes along the way. So, her parents assign her to spend a few hours a week driving the family’s two dogs around the area in hopes that she’d become more focused and aware of her surroundings.

That’s an assignment Leuzzi could certainly relate to.

“I used to drive my dogs, Lucky and Brigid, around in my 280Z Datsun for about a half-hour,” she explained. “Along the way, I’d point things out to them. We had fun.” 

And that’s when the idea for the book hit her. 

In the novel, the protagonist, Amanda, takes on the assignment with a certain degree of angst that quickly evolves into determination, which is tempered by the occasional appearance of three of her favorite heroines from history (that’s the active imagination). The drives with her canine passengers turn into meaningful adventures that include some of her peers (her love interest helps her out of a ditch) and a few of her elders as well.

During one of those rides she meets Bernice, an older woman. “It was important to have the character of Bernice, an older woman,” whom Leuzzi said was a catalyst for her protagonist’s growth. Bernice imparts a lot of wisdom that helps Amanda become less fearful and more confident in her choices in life. Her Aunt Debbie is an aid, too, spending time with her and purchasing a digital camera for Amanda’s birthday, her start as an environmental filmmaker.

“Younger and older women each have something to learn from one another,” Leuzzi noted.

The story begins with Amanda at the Academy Awards waiting to hear if she won for Best Environmental Documentary and her recalling what got her into it.

In the story, while driving along the neighborhood roads, Amanda develops a deeper appreciation of where she lives. The natural beauty of the landscape, the wetlands and the history of the hamlets of Sayville, Bayport and Blue Point are featured in the book. It is reflective of the author’s appreciation and love for her environment, and she felt it was important to highlight it. 

“You need a sense of place in a story,” Leuzzi said, while pointing out the example of a favorite author, Elin Hilderbrand, who writes about her island of Nantucket. “Mine is here [in my community]. We are so lucky to live in an area with so much history, and stories,” she added.

The Roosevelt mansion, Meadow Croft (Bernice was a secretary for the Roosevelts and flew during World War II with Jackie Cochran), is included in the story, as are some local parks, a winery and its vintner Barney Loughlin, and even the newspaper where Leuzzi worked for many years and still contributes stories: The Suffolk County News. The late John Lee, who was an editor of the paper, also makes an appearance. It was important for her to include the paper in her story. “I’m a big proponent of community newspapers,” she said. “It’s the last bastion of democracy.”

Over the years, Leuzzi has written more than 3,000 articles for several newspapers including Islip Bulletin and The Long Island Advance, where she’d also served as editor.

One of her favorite assignments began at the Bayport Aerodrome, which also happens to be one experience that she shared with her character. While preparing to write a scene on the historic location, Leuzzi decided to go one step further.

“I went up in a Piper Cub to experience what Amanda does with Bernice,” she said, noting the half-hour plane ride was a lot of fun. “It was probably one of the greatest things I ever did.” 

Leuzzi said she has enjoyed writing so many other stories and looks forward to the next one. In the meantime, she continues to drive/walk her new rescue dog, Tina, around her beloved neighborhood.

She hopes whoever reads “Car Dogs” will come away with the same sense of curiosity for their own community and learn a few important lessons along the way. Those lessons include having respect for the natural environment and for history, especially women’s history, and to always have the courage to follow through with your convictions.

“Even if you’re scared,” she added, “listen to your heart.”  

“Car Dogs,” published by Solstice Publishing, is available for purchase on Amazon. Leuzzi will be signing copies of her book on Saturday, July 25, between 11a.m. and 1 p.m. at Pamela Lerner Home & Design, 145 South Country Road, Bellport. For more information about the author go to her website: lindaleuzzi.com.