Cherished

April 1, 2011

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

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011
Get out the Kleenex for this one, as editor Abercrombie has created the perfect book to read when weve 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 Lamotts 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 Smileys 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)