Iām a dog nut who loves reflecting on the powerful life lessons we can learn as we watch our furry best friends age happily and gratefully by our sides. Iāve also been working as a journalist for more than 30 years now ā so that makes me one of the oldest dogs in my own newsroom. Iām a senior writer and editor for the website of NBCās TODAY show, and the My Old Dog book stemmed from a viral TODAY.com story I wrote about photographer Lori Fusaroās efforts to change peopleās perceptions of older shelter animals. Writing that story was one of the best things that ever happened to me!
Iāve been a fan of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author Dave Barry for decades, and his Lessons From Lucy book surprised me ā not because itās hilarious (of course it is!), but because itās so profoundly moving. I havenāt been able to stop thinking about it since I read it. Hereās what inspired the book: When Barry turned 70, he reflected on how unhappy he was about aging ā in stark contrast with his blissed-out senior dog, Lucy. Barry noticed that Lucy was always ready for fun new adventures, eager to make new friends, and able to live in the moment. In this gem of a book, Barry explores the realities of the human condition and zeroes in on the real keys to contentment in life, all thanks to the love of a dog.
In this "little gem" (Washington Independent Review of Books), Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and New York Times bestselling author Dave Barry learns how to age happily from his old but joyful dog, Lucy.
As Dave Barry turns seventy-not happily-he realizes that his dog, Lucy, is dealing with old age far better than he is. She has more friends, fewer worries, and way more fun. So Dave decides to figure out how Lucy manages to stay so happy, to see if he can make his own life happier by doing the things she does (except for drinking from the toilet). He reconnectsā¦
Ever since I was a young girl, I always turned to writing to work through anything that was happening in my life, ranging from the first time I experienced loss to my parentsā divorce. I have since published three childrenās books on tough topics as I have aimed to provide parents, children, and teachers with tools to discuss loss and change. My most recent book, Goodbye, Gus is specifically about the loss of a pet. My dad died when I was 21, and that was the first death (other than my dogs) that I ever experienced. I was able to experience first-hand the fact that the loss of my pets helped prepare me to cope with grief, and I also learned that we can all focus on what we did have and hang on to those memories forever.
This book is full of comforting information for those who have lost a pet and are going through the grieving process. I remember reading this book and feeling so grateful that a psychologist put together this information specifically for those of us who are coping with losing a pet. I love my dogs, and they are a big part of my family. When I have lost them, I feel devastated. Pet grief is a bereavement process that deserves attention, care, and understanding, and this book helps us to understand that intense grief.
Understanding helps heal the hurt when you lose a pet.
This award-winning book has been hailed as the seminal work in the field. And now the fourth newly revised and expanded edition offers so much more to the bereaving pet owner. This edition also includes a significant new way of considering the meaning of afterlife for us and our pets. It discusses the topic from a twenty-first century scientific perspective that is very different from existing religious or metaphysical ones, offering a new comfort to skeptics and agnostics as well.
This book will help you in your healing from thatā¦
Iām passionate about animals. When I was starting out in my 20s, I worked as a vet tech and a dog trainer and fully intended to make a career in animals. But along the way my other love, art, joined the dance. Itās only natural Iāve found ways to combine my two loves, like, illustrating a veterinarian's advice column for Family Dog magazine, and writing, Donāt Lick the Dog, and Nanny Paws, both inspired by my own beloved dogs.
I love and grieve hard. Sometimes debilitatingly so. When I lost my first cat, Olif, I couldnāt go in my studio for a year. Without my best boy in there with me, just crossing the threshold triggered a kind of PTSD, and Iād buckle under the grief. I finally saw a therapist and got the help I needed to move forward.
Books can help us with our grief too, and Going Home is one thatās helped me. Glancing through it now, I see Iāve opened straight to the chapter, āGuilt.ā Yea, that oneās insidious, isnāt it. Katz covers them all: All the thoughts that needle and jab, all the emotions that drown, then drain us. Maybe, Going Home will help you too. Hold it on your lap where your beloved once was. And I will too.
In this invaluable guide and touchstone, New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz addresses the difficult but necessary topic of saying goodbye to a beloved pet. Drawing on personal experiences, stories from fellow pet owners, and philosophical reflections, Katz provides support for those in mourning. By allowing ourselves to grieve honestly and openly, he posits, we can in time celebrate the dogs, cats, and other creatures that have so enriched us. Katz compels us to consider if we gave our pets good lives, if we were their advocates in times of need, and if we used our best judgments inā¦
