When I started the “Going Home” video, I had a number of ideas about it. I wanted to give people who had lost animals a voice and opportunity to share their stories. I wanted to call attention to my new book, “Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die.” And I wanted to further explore my idea that new technologies like the blog and Facebook and video are giving writers and readers an opportunity to connect in different ways, to collaborate in different ways. Writers can no longer hole up in their studies and hope the world will find their work. And they no longer have to.

Yesterday, I posted “Going Home” and by late afternoon, there were nearly 2,000 views on YouTube. I expect there will be many more, and the response to the video has been heartwarming, to say the least. It was a good idea, and I am fortunate that my agent and publisher supported it so strongly. Other writers are not so lucky. I am taking the video on the book tour with me and hope to show it around the country and the “Going Home” page will stay up on Facebook, a permanent opportunity for people to share their love of animals, living and dead, and to draw comfort and sympathy from other people. This video was a labor of love for me, and nothing made it more so than hearing my voice over the beautiful images of your animals. What a collaboration. Thank you. You have given me a great gift.