Another good book!


Just when you think it's unusual to hear from one American author, a second email pings into my inbox! This time from Melisa Wells who has just published a book that I think is going to be a huge help to doggie families at a very difficult time.

Here's an extract from her email:
"I was at the local bookstore the other night, looking at the dog magazine titles just to make sure that, in promoting my book, I try to reach everyone. I found Dogs Today and was thrilled to find out that it's a UK magazine. I went to the website this morning to find contact information for the editor (you!) so that I could figure out who to send a copy of my book to...and the magazine site led me to your blog which, ironically, currently spotlights your post about American author Jonathan Englert.
"How strange that another American author looked for you TODAY, right? Anyway, my book is newly published (as of 9/11) and I am planning on--as soon as I get my "truckload" of copies--sending one across the Atlantic to you, even though I have just discovered that I am apparently a "copycat". I assure you, I have no connection whatsoever to Jonathan Englert!
"During the difficult time after our Beagle Bijoux died in April 2003, I was unable to find a book on pet loss that our family could share. That summer, I wrote a book on the subject–geared towards families with young children–after it occurred to me that writing our story would be therapeutic while also helping other families going through the same thing.
"As of last week, my book "Remembering Ruby: For Families Living Beyond the Loss of a Pet" was officially published!
"The story, told from my son's point of view, is accompanied by black and white photographs. Because losing a pet is often the first time that children have to cope with death, I thought it important to include suggestions on helping children grieve in their own way, which you’ll find at the back of the book in the "Guide for Parents” section.
"Speaking with many people about the process of publishing my book during the past year has reinforced my belief that “Remembering Ruby” fills a void in an often overlooked subject matter, and I hope that our family's story can help comfort other families that are dealing with the sadness of losing a pet."
Sounds a great idea to me - and delighted to hear you can pick up a copy of the mag so easily in the US - sometimes people can't find it that easily in the UK! I remember the first time I saw it on sale in New York - I nearly fainted!
I'm target market for this book. My poor son has had to cope with a lot of death already even at just six. He's only got one grandparent left - two out of the four dying since he was born - one being my mum who helped me so much with him when he was a baby. (Couldn't get anyone to do maternity cover and ended up not being able to take any time off and just working at home when he was sleeping - even had meetings around my bed in hospital! Mum was amazing, couldn't have coped without her.) Cleo, the Beardie who was around when my son was learning to walk died suddenly and then all his stick insects died in swift succession. He's now somewhat fatalistic!
Sounds like "Remembering Ruby" will be well read here.

Melisa has written a blog about getting published.
Isn't the world getting smaller!Link

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm sure this will be enormously useful for many people. Although I can't comment on dealing with loss from a childs perpective, my only reservation would be the wide range of different responses and methods of dealing with bereavement. Since Prince was put down I've read many articles and guides to bereavement, and whilst there are elements that I find useful, there are huge swathes of recommendations that I don't feel would help me at all. I think people deal with things in very different ways, and what works for one person may be virtually abhorrent to another. I think some of the cultural differences between the UK and the US may also muddy the waters. It will be interesting to get some feedback from parents when they've read it as to whether they think it is useful.

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