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Until Tuesday
New York Times bestselling author Luis Carlos Montalván and his service dog, Tuesday, to visit Virginia Wesleyan April 23
News Release | March 24, 2015
New York Times bestselling author Luis Carlos Montalván and his tail-wagging, best friend and service dog, “Tuesday,” will visit Virginia Wesleyan College on Thursday, April 23 to speak about Montalván’s award-winning memoir, Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him. A keynote presentation will take place in VWC’s Boyd Dining Center from 8-9 p.m. followed by a brief Q&A and book signing. The event is free and open to the public.
While on campus, Montalván will also speak to students in the VWC course “Animals and Society,” taught by Professor of Sociology Kathy Stolley. The course focuses on human-animal relationships, exploring the role and impact of animals in human society, as well as the impact of humans on the lives of animals. Students study Montalván’s book as part of the course.
“Montalván and Tuesday’s moving story illustrates the best of the human-animal bond,” says Stolley. “It engages critical and timely social issues, including the human toll taken on combat veterans, the effects of PTSD, the politics of war, and the treatment of veterans and the disabled.”
A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Montalván served two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, the pressures of his physical wounds, traumatic brain injury, and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. Haunted by the war and in constant physical pain, he began to wonder if he would ever recover. Then he met Tuesday, a Golden Retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived amongst prisoners and at a home for troubled boys; he could turn on lights, open doors, and sense the onset of anxiety and flashbacks. As a result of a unique training situation and sensitive nature, Tuesday found it difficult to trust in, or connect with a human being—until Luis.
“Until Tuesday” is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how together they healed each other’s souls.
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About Luis Carlos Montalván
Captain Montalván is a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Army, including multiple combat tours in Iraq. He was decorated with numerous awards including two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, and the Combat Action Badge. In 2007, he honorably departed the military, and in 2010, he completed a master’s of science from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Montalván’s inspirational memoir “Until Tuesday” debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in 2011 and returned in 2012 and 2013. It won two USA Best Book Awards; and received finalist honors for an Audio Publisher’s Association (APA) “Audie Award” and an International Latino Book Award. In May 2014, Montalván’s first children’s book titled, “Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog” (Macmillan), was released to wide acclaim. Amazon.com declared it the “Best Nonfiction Children’s Book of 2014” and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) and the National Council for the Social Studies selected it a “2015 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People.” Learn more at www.until-tuesday.com & www.tuesdaytucksmein.com