Goldfish Surgery and Chinchillas in the Bubble-Bath:
I had no idea how many trials and tribulations come with being a veterinarian, or being married to one. In her coming memoir, Patti Eddington takes us from farm calls to exotic pets—and even to the unforgettable moment when her husband, Jim, performs surprisingly successful surgery on their daughter’s goldfish.
Speaking of daughters: some dads come home from trade shows with pens or tote bags, but Jim brings home a giant inflatable multi-legged tick complete with simulated hair. What a lucky girl.
The book is full of memorable scenes, from that heroic goldfish operation to the pet chinchilla who launches himself straight into Patti’s bubble bath. Being married to a vet, she reminds us, isn’t always easy—especially when a cow in crisis takes precedence over date night.
Patti is also wonderfully reflective. She writes:
It would be nice if we could prepare for life’s harsh moments the way we can prepare for a tornado—by simply going into the basement… Since things aren’t quite that simple, however, I guess we just need to remind ourselves that it’s sometimes enough to simply draw the drapes and gather the cats and wait until the apocalypse is over.
Hard work and dedication
Patti and Jim have certainly paid their dues—living for a while on her single paycheck, Patti shouldering office duties and more (much, much more), taking big risks, and working together to build Jim’s practice from the ground up.
Ultimately, this is the story of “two young kids from humble beginnings” who created “a business we could be proud of, a business that helped people and, most important, lots and lots of animals.”
Warm, funny, and unexpectedly poignant, Don’t Look in the Freezer is a celebration of a life built on compassion and all the chaos that comes with it. I was delighted to have the opportunity to read an ARC!
Don’t Look in the Freezer will be released on April 28. 2026 by She Writes Press and distributed by Simon and Schuster. Preorder from Simon and Schuster, Amazon, Bookshop.org (where every purchase helps an indie bookseller!) or Barnes & Noble
About the Author:
Patti Eddington married her veterinary student boyfriend, Jim, when they were in college. While she expected the focus of their life together to be on animals, she wasn’t prepared for quite as many shenanigans as she has experienced; her life has been incredibly happy, but probably not as glamorous as some might expect.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz writes fiction, poetry and essays.
Her second novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, is coming October 27, 2026, from Regal House Publishing: When an anxious overthinker finds discarded love letters, her fixation on a stranger pulls her straight into chaos, heartbreak, and the inconvenient unraveling of her carefully constructed life. Preorder the book now!
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