A novel by the late Emily Henry Mackin, formerly of Columbus, has been published by her family and is now available for purchase on amazon.com. Mackin wrote “A Dog for Maggie” in the autumn of 2010 as she was recovering from surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to treat a malignant brain tumor. The pineoblastoma ultimately took her life two and a half years later. Mackin was 25 when she died in Warren County, just outside Vicksburg, in 2013.
The novel’s main character, Maggie Sullivan, is a single woman in her early 20s, living alone and working for an accounting firm in the small Mississippi town where she grew up. A chance encounter on an evening walk brings her face to face with a stray dog longing for love and attention. “Lucky” captures Maggie’s heart, and the bond they form sets in motion a series of adventures turning her monotonous life into a web of romance, crime, and murder.
The novel was edited by Mackin’s mother, Jennifer Prator Henry, of Flowood, her sister, Mary Henry, of Flowood, and her father, Patrick Taylor Henry, of Washington, D.C. Her brother, Taylor Henry, a professional graphic artist in Washington, D.C., did the artwork for the book.
Mackin is the granddaughter of Margaret Brewer Henry and the niece of Margaret Mary Henry, both of Columbus.
Mackin attended Demonstration, Annunciation Catholic, and Lee Middle Schools, and she graduated as valedictorian of her class at Columbus High School in 2005. She went on to graduate with a degree in English and theology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and was pursuing a master’s degree at the College of William and Mary in Virginia when afflicted with the tumor. Six months before she died, Mackin married her college sweetheart, then First Lieutenant Ben Mackin of the Mississippi National Guard.
All proceeds from the sale of “A Dog for Maggie” will go to a scholarship fund set up in memory of Mackin at Spring Hill College.
Mackin’s father, Patrick Taylor Henry, formerly of Columbus, said, “Both the book and the scholarship stand as part of Emily’s legacy. She was a wonderful daughter, a great friend, a dedicated student, a devoted Christian, and a gifted writer, as will be plain to anyone who gets to read ‘A Dog for Maggie.’ My family and I miss Emily immensely, but we’re thrilled to have this novel to remember her by, and we know she would be honored that a scholarship in her name will help up-and-coming students pursue their college education.”
Copies of “A Dog for Maggie” can be ordered at amazon.com. Type “A Dog for Maggie by Emily Henry Mackin” in the search bar.
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