Cherished : 21 writers on animals they have loved and lost

Cherished 21 writers on animals they have loved and lost

Book - 2011

"Because "grieving for an animal can be a pretty lonely place," Barbara Abercrombie created this joyful and poignant, funny and smart collection of commiseration. Readers meet the cat who liked to fish tampon tubes out of the trash and then appear "jauntily holding one in his mouth as if smoking a cigarette," the dog who demanded down pillows, and even a coyote who became part of the family. The sometimes surprising things animals add to a household-- and how their loss reverberates-- are highlighted, and because these are such fine writers, each essay also reveals larger truths about life. Whether the reader is grieving a loss, cherishing a current companion, or simply relishing a tale well told, the message is cle...ar: it is better to have loved and lost"--Provided by publisher.

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
Pets > Anecdotes.
Pet owners > Anecdotes.
Human-animal relationships > Anecdotes.
Published
Novato, Calif. : New World Library 2011.
Language
English
Other Authors
Barbara Abercrombie (-)
Physical Description
xvii, 213 p.
ISBN
9781577319573
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • 1. Isha
  • 2. A Story about The General
  • 3. Hope
  • 4. Mr. T.'s Heart
  • 5. Fluff
  • 6. Seamus and Spud
  • 7. Calico
  • 8. Red the Pig
  • 9. This Dog's Life
  • 10. True Love
  • 11. In Molly's Eyes
  • 12. Winesburg
  • 13. Party Girl
  • 14. A Religion Named Yoyo
  • 15. My Sal
  • 16. Kiki
  • 17. Wonder Dog
  • 18. My Virtual Cat
  • 19. First Dog, Best Dog
  • 20. Taking Stock
  • 21. Dog Years
  • Epilogue
  • Contributors
  • Acknowledgments
  • Permissions
  • About the Editor
Review by Booklist Review

Get out the Kleenex for this one, as editor Abercrombie has created the perfect book to read when we've lost a beloved pet: a book that helps us remember why we love our companion animals, and what they have given us by their presence in our lives. Anne Lamott's dog Sadie died at home, and as friends and family who came to mourn her passing crowded into the bedroom where she died, the whole thing reminded Anne of the stateroom scene from A Night at the Opera. Yoyo the cat helped Linzi Glass get through a childhood as a Jew among Christians; and since she had no religion of her own, Yoyo became her religion. When Jane Smiley's horse Mr. T. got colic and had to be euthanized, she and her boyfriend sat and stroked him and relaxed into the realization that he was no longer there. The 21 short essays, plus one poem, in this anthology help us learn, as one author says, that the process of grieving for a pet opens our hearts to the pets that will follow.--Bent, Nanc. Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Abercrombie (writing, Univ. of California-Los Angeles), after realizing that little existed to comfort those grieving over the loss of their furry loved ones, solicited stories from 21 well-known authors to celebrate and lament the all-too-short lives of our companion animals. Contributors include Anne Lamott, Carolyn See, and Jane Smiley. Lamott writes of Sadie, a black Lab that comforted her and her son through life's trials and tribulations. See and her family take in a dog, believed to be half-coyote, and love it unconditionally despite its wild ways. Smiley relates her deep love for her horse, Mr. T, and the pain of losing it too early from heart complications. Each story relates the pivotal role animals have in our lives and the inevitable loss inherent in loving creatures whose life span is far shorter than ours. Note that all royalties from the book's sale go to the Best Friends Animal Society (www.bestfriends.org), an organization whose mission is "to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets." VERDICT A heartbreaker that will be warmly embraced by animal lovers.-Diana Hartle, Univ. of Georgia Science Lib., Athens (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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