Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤'s Reviews > The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion―Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

I was thrilled when I saw Peter Wohlleben had written this book about animals. His Secret Life of Trees was one of the best books I read last year. The way he wrote, and the abundance of facts gave me such an intense appreciation for trees that I had previously lacked.

In The Inner Life of Animals Wohlleben writes with the same love, respect, and appreciation of animals as he wrote about trees. It is more anecdotal than scientific, much of what he wrote is his own observations of animals, both wild and domestic. He strives to open our minds to the inner complexities of non-human animals, showing how they feel many emotions we humans feel and how they are much more intelligent than humans often give them credit for. Anyone who has lived with animals already knows this; we can see that our companion cats and dogs and birds possess an inner life full of thoughts and feelings similar to our own.

I didn't learn much in this book, thus 4 stars instead of 5. It was still an enjoyable and interesting read, despite the lack of new knowledge for me. I think it's an important book, just as is The Secret Life of Trees, and we humans need to start appreciating the depth of feeling and thought most (perhaps all?) animals possess. How can we treat them humanely if we do not recognise their uniqueness and ability to suffer? I think that is exactly why we have looked so long upon them as automatons; if we do not admit their ability to suffer, we can do to them what we wish, including keeping them in ghastly conditions in factory farms.

There are heart-warming stories and touching observations in this book, of many different animals. Wohlleben writes often of his dogs and goats, but also about bees, pigs, wolves, hedgehogs, foxes, and many other animals. Not just of their feeling pain, but also joy and gratitude, fear and courage. The Inner Life of Animals is a must-read for animal lovers, or anyone merely wondering if animals have the ability to feel.

(Photo credit: Blond Hovawart with Lamb, Hovawarts USA, 2017)