Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet
by Gary Kowalski
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary KowalskiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-07-25
ISBN: 1883478227
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: New World Library
Book Reviews of Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet
Book Review: Very "circle-of-life"-ish, but contains helpful thoughts
Summary: 3 Stars
As a Christian, I knew going into this book that the author is a minister of a Unitarian "church" that is not recognized as Biblical Christianity, so I accounted for that. This church's theology rejects Christ as the Son of God and equal with God, and their faith is guided more by reason and science than by the Word of God. Hence, there is a sense of spiritual and even emotional detachment when dealing with experiences and emotions. So I'll say at the top here that many of his expressions of faith come across as 'detached', so you'll have to move on from that and consider his presentation of nature and "the circle of life" which does have some benefit.
Kowalski's scientific approach held some value for me because it helped me to reconcile the fact that losing my dogs (I lost both within 5 months of one another) was natural, beneficial for them and an experience of life at its most natural. In other words, death is a natural part of life; so if you prefer a more scientific-type approach to these matters, his writing may appeal to you. He does express his own love for his pets, there are some quotes in the begining of each chapter that are nice, and you'll find some compassion and affirmation there, but his view is so scientific in nature that you may imagine a very composed, straight face looking at you and saying, "Friend, it's a part of life. It's the way it is. Embrace it." Personally, I like a better balance between that sort of reality and the ability to reach into one's emotional experience at the same time.
I think I highlighted a handful of helpful thoughts as I went through the book, and overall I appreciated his writing, but it was one of those books, for me anyway, where one reading sufficed. Whereas, another book "Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet", was a much more practical, walk-with-you approach that I gained an abundance from by comparison to Kowalski's book. It was much more therapeutic for me.
God bless you and bring peace to you as you go through this time of grief, and if you are looking to buy a book for a friend who is going through it, I personally would recommend the above-mentioned book by Moira Anderson before this one.
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