"No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted" -Aesop
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Nurturing Paws Lynn C. Johnston, Editor Whispering Angel
book review by Carolyn Davis
This anthology of short stories and poems celebrates the relationships between humans and animals of other species. Each selection describes an act of physical and/or emotional healing or increased awareness facilitated by inter-species interactions. An especially touching story is "How a Brown Bunny Changed Everything". In it, an unhappy New Yorker's life is transformed after her adoption of a baby bunny. "The Touch" is a short short story of three small paragraphs. "He knew ...when I needed his touch. Sometimes he would tell me his troubles, too, and then meow as if to say that nothing was ever so bad that a little tuna wouldn't cure." From "Our Canine Family Member", "When we brought Max (a puppy) home, a different type of energy and a profound sense of purpose entered in with him." The settings of the stories vary, but a common theme is mutual rescue.
Sometimes the animal comes into the person's life through a friend or a family member; sometimes the relationship is initiated by one or both of the direct participants. Anyone who has loved anyone (human or otherwise) and been strengthened by a relationship will appreciate these powerful stories and poems, which are only matched by the strength of the writers assembled. Editor Johnston allows the individual voices of the authors to be heard, so the structure and quality of the selections vary some, but the truth of the experiences shines through each. Nurturing Paws will bring your emotions to the surface, and make you glad that you feel them.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review