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Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss: An Animal Lover's Guide to Grief
Whether you recently lost your cherished pet or know you soon will, this book is for you.
Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is designed to help readers understand the bond they have with their pets and why losing them is uniquely painful; aid them in understanding the grief they experience in the aftermath of that loss; and teach them the skills they need to process this loss. In these pages, licensed mental health counselor Anne Marie Farage-Smith offers detailed explanations of the types of grief that one may encounter upon the loss or impending loss of a pet and provides validation for the emotions experienced in relation to that loss. She also reminds readers that help is available, and gives actionable criteria for the reader to determine when professional assistance is needed and how to find it.
Containing a variety of deliberately open-ended writing exercises Farage-Smith has seen help others to understand and heal their grief, as well as suggestions for a variety of ways to honor and remember one’s pet, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is the loving, supportive grief journey companion every bereaved pet parent needs.
Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is designed to help readers understand the bond they have with their pets and why losing them is uniquely painful; aid them in understanding the grief they experience in the aftermath of that loss; and teach them the skills they need to process this loss. In these pages, licensed mental health counselor Anne Marie Farage-Smith offers detailed explanations of the types of grief that one may encounter upon the loss or impending loss of a pet and provides validation for the emotions experienced in relation to that loss. She also reminds readers that help is available, and gives actionable criteria for the reader to determine when professional assistance is needed and how to find it.
Containing a variety of deliberately open-ended writing exercises Farage-Smith has seen help others to understand and heal their grief, as well as suggestions for a variety of ways to honor and remember one’s pet, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is the loving, supportive grief journey companion every bereaved pet parent needs.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2024
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 15, 2025
Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is a remarkably informed and compassionate book filled with empathy and provides us with beautiful ways to lovingly move through our grief.
There are writing activities at the end of each chapter that provide supportive guidance to move through the experience of pet loss. This book is a beautiful resource, and I highly recommend it!
There are writing activities at the end of each chapter that provide supportive guidance to move through the experience of pet loss. This book is a beautiful resource, and I highly recommend it!
November 10, 2024
Pet loss means many things. Death, moving, financial hardships, military deployment and the notion of having to say goodbye to them when they're still alive and well. It's also the uncertainty of a future loss that you are anticipating and need help on how to process your thoughts.
This book covers such a wide range of grief, with a very detailed response on how to handle each situation, provide quotes and research about studies conducted in regards to animal bonds with humans (first few chapters discuss this) and helps you work through your thoughts and feelings. I found the chapters easy to read, flowed very well and had some actual insights that no other pet loss book I've read thus far, ever truly offered. And this book doesn't repeat itself too much. Certain sentences do come up in different chapters, especially since one scenario can be compared to another way of handling grief or how other people don't understand your grief. Just to clarify with you on the thoughts you might be feeling.
I had healed and grieved before reading this particular book, which now I wish I started reading first when I checked out grief books at the library. One sentence that resonated with me was the words "I should have taken him to the vets sooner". It still haunts me that even tho my boy was seen by a vet, not even 48 hours later and he suddenly died when I was told I quote "had more time" and he wasn't on "deaths door". A mother truly knows when something's up. And I had a sad feeling. Turns out the blood work showed he had some form of cancer that we could not identify. Tho not my fault, I blamed myself for not taking him in sooner. His death was tragic and while I rate this book 5/5, it didn't discuss much about severeme trauma of watching your pet die in front of you. I still feel alone and wished there was a chapter discussing about if you witnessed a not so peaceful passing. One chapter did mention a peaceful passing about Wishbone that died at home, but for me I still feel like I can't find comfort since I don't see people talk about their traumas. So maybe a support group is what I need (as recommended in this book).
The book shares ideas to distract yourself, stay active, find a new routine and would tell us examples of the author's clients and what they went through on dealing with their losses. Some couldn't even return home after the loss and went to a hotel room to decompress and gather their thoughts. I felt for a while like I couldn't move on either. Thankfully I distracted myself by fostering kittens.
Much like self help books, this one highly recommends writing down your thoughts or saying them out loud as you read through the book. I feel that much like workshops about pet loss, most of them are the same. But this one gave more details about self helping yourself and taking care of you afterwards. I wish the books I read shared ideas like this one. It feels more complete and well rounded in the entire process of grief.
Highly recommended read. If I have to go through a pet loss again, I will revisit this book.
This book covers such a wide range of grief, with a very detailed response on how to handle each situation, provide quotes and research about studies conducted in regards to animal bonds with humans (first few chapters discuss this) and helps you work through your thoughts and feelings. I found the chapters easy to read, flowed very well and had some actual insights that no other pet loss book I've read thus far, ever truly offered. And this book doesn't repeat itself too much. Certain sentences do come up in different chapters, especially since one scenario can be compared to another way of handling grief or how other people don't understand your grief. Just to clarify with you on the thoughts you might be feeling.
I had healed and grieved before reading this particular book, which now I wish I started reading first when I checked out grief books at the library. One sentence that resonated with me was the words "I should have taken him to the vets sooner". It still haunts me that even tho my boy was seen by a vet, not even 48 hours later and he suddenly died when I was told I quote "had more time" and he wasn't on "deaths door". A mother truly knows when something's up. And I had a sad feeling. Turns out the blood work showed he had some form of cancer that we could not identify. Tho not my fault, I blamed myself for not taking him in sooner. His death was tragic and while I rate this book 5/5, it didn't discuss much about severeme trauma of watching your pet die in front of you. I still feel alone and wished there was a chapter discussing about if you witnessed a not so peaceful passing. One chapter did mention a peaceful passing about Wishbone that died at home, but for me I still feel like I can't find comfort since I don't see people talk about their traumas. So maybe a support group is what I need (as recommended in this book).
The book shares ideas to distract yourself, stay active, find a new routine and would tell us examples of the author's clients and what they went through on dealing with their losses. Some couldn't even return home after the loss and went to a hotel room to decompress and gather their thoughts. I felt for a while like I couldn't move on either. Thankfully I distracted myself by fostering kittens.
Much like self help books, this one highly recommends writing down your thoughts or saying them out loud as you read through the book. I feel that much like workshops about pet loss, most of them are the same. But this one gave more details about self helping yourself and taking care of you afterwards. I wish the books I read shared ideas like this one. It feels more complete and well rounded in the entire process of grief.
Highly recommended read. If I have to go through a pet loss again, I will revisit this book.
May 3, 2025
3.75 ⭐
This book offered lots of helpful journaling exercises at the end of each chapter. It also shared insight into grief patterns and some ways to cope, while still showing the reader that the grief process is normal and that everyone handles it differently. There were a few chapters I didn't feel the need to read and some sections that didn't apply to me; I also didn't connect as much to this author's story as I did in the other pet loss book I read. However, I was overall satisfied with the structure of this book.
This book offered lots of helpful journaling exercises at the end of each chapter. It also shared insight into grief patterns and some ways to cope, while still showing the reader that the grief process is normal and that everyone handles it differently. There were a few chapters I didn't feel the need to read and some sections that didn't apply to me; I also didn't connect as much to this author's story as I did in the other pet loss book I read. However, I was overall satisfied with the structure of this book.
July 29, 2024
This book has been very comforting during my time of grieving for my best friend of 17 years. I haven't read the whole thing, as I cry every time I open it, but the information I have read is both comforting and encouraging. I appreciated the sections about grief, exploring your feelings, and honoring your pet. I will be purchasing a copy.
May 11, 2025
An extremely well written and compassionate book on a subject pet owners experience (often without support). Highly recommended book on this topic.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews