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"A powerful collection of quotations by writers, leaders, and legends on the pain of losing a pet and overcoming grief.An animal's love is deep, uncomplicated, unconditional, and forgiving. ""Affection without ambivalence"" is how Sigmund Freud described the connection. ""No matter how awful the day, or how awful I am behaving at any given moment, George doesn't care,"" writes journalist John Dickerson. ""He finds me smoldering in my chair and dashes to my lap."" Our lives are intricately intertwined with our pets, and together, over time, we establish rituals that are as steady as a metronome. It's no wonder the grief is crushing when they depart--even those who've had time to prepare describe feeling stunned, devastated, and cracked in two. ""We were a bit broken up over the death of our black Persian cat,"" crime novelist Raymond Chandler confessed. ""When I say a bit broken up, I am being conventional. For us it was a tragedy."" Nobel Prize-winning author V. S. Naipaul described the experience as ""calamitous,"" and writer May Sarton called it a ""volcanic eruption of woe."" Poet Emily Dickinson was so bereft she asked for help: ""Carlo died,"" she announced in a letter to her friend Thomas Wentworth Higginson in 1866. ""Would you instruct me now?"" The Book of Pet Love and Loss is a collection of quotations--poignant thoughts and memories discovered in letters, journals, diaries, memoirs, and other original sources--from beloved cultural figures who understood this singular experience so deeply, they felt compelled to write about it. This book dignifies the profound connection we share with our animal companions, but it also provides solace as mourners document their heartache over the loss of their cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, and other animals--even, in the case of Pablo Neruda, a mongoose. Their comforting and wise words are what every animal lover needs on this journey of heartbreak and healing."

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9781797174075

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"Sara Bader is an editor, writer, and researcher. She has worked as an acquisitions editor for Princeton Architectural Press and senior editor for Phaidon. In addition to editing visual culture books, she has conceived and researched quotation collections for both publishers, including The Designer Says, Art Is the Highest Form of Hope, and Every Day a Word Surprises Me, among others. In 2010, she launched Quotenik.com, a growing library of verified quotations. Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show. Janina Edwards is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts acting program. She excels at portraying authentic characters and voices of African Americans and other people of the African diaspora, plus other English-speaking cultures. A native of London, England, Shiromi Arserio is a stage actor, voice talent, and audiobook narrator. She holds a BA in theater from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. In addition to narrating dozens of audiobooks, her voice can be heard in documentaries, e-learning projects, and video games such as Nancy Drew: The Shattered Medallion. Shiromi currently resides in Hawaii with her husband and her two furbabies. Originally from Ireland, Gary Furlong has worked as a teacher in Niigata, Japan; a puppeteer in Prague; an improv artist in Memphis; and a festival performer in Ireland. A naturally gifted mimic, Gary began narrating audiobooks for a living in 2015 and hasn't looked back. Gary specializes in accents and dialect, with fluency in Irish, British RP, and Standard American. In four years of working full-time with audiobook production, Gary has narrated over 100 audiobooks spanning fantasy, thriller, romance, YA, and nonfiction for world-class publishing houses and independent authors. In 2018 Gary won a much coveted AudioFile Earphones Award and the Independent Audiobook Award for Romance. He now lives in Texas with his wife and their golden retriever called ""Gansey,"" which means ""Sweater"" in Irish Gaelic."

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