A powerful collection of quotations by writers, leaders, and legends on the pain of losing a pet and overcoming grief.
An animalâs love is deep, uncomplicated, unconditional, and forgiving. âAffection without ambivalenceâ is how Sigmund Freud described the connection. âNo matter how awful the day, or how awful I am behaving at any given moment, George doesnât care,â writes journalist John Dickerson. âHe finds me smoldering in my chair and dashes to my lap.â Our lives are intricately intertwined with our pets, and together, over time, we establish rituals that are as steady as a metronome. Itâs no wonder the grief is crushing when they departâeven those whoâve had time to prepare describe feeling stunned, devastated, and cracked in two.
âWe were a bit broken up over the death of our black Persian cat,â crime novelist Raymond Chandler confessed. âWhen I say a bit broken up, I am being conventional. For us it was a tragedy.â Nobel Prizeâwinning author V. S. Naipaul described the experience as âcalamitous,â and writer May Sarton called it a âvolcanic eruption of woe.â Poet Emily Dickinson was so bereft she asked for help: âCarlo died,â she announced in a letter to her friend Thomas Wentworth Higginson in 1866. âWould you instruct me now?â
The Book of Pet Love and Loss is a collection of quotationsâpoignant thoughts and memories discovered in letters, journals, diaries, memoirs, and other original sourcesâfrom 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 animalsâeven, 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.