I was deeply moved to hear this reading from “Going Home” by Marilyn Brooks, this gentle, sensitive and thoughtful human being. I had not heard the book read aloud before. In this passage, Marilyn quotes my writin in the book about the gift of grief, the gratitude I feel for having my dogs and other animals, the journey in life from darkness to light, from sorrow to you. But better to hear her read it. It is a gift to me to hear this.
Monday I will be at Battenkill Books, Cambridge, N.Y., from noon on, taking phone calls, signing books – between 400 and 500 of them, looks like. Plenty of time to join the party, a celebration of my book and of the worth of independent bookstores. We are fighting for them. We’ve lost enough to the corporate idea of commerce.
I personally cannot imagine a better way to spend a day. Thanks to you all for voting for independent bookstores. There are two e-book readers in my house, and I love both of them. But there is room in the world for community bookstores too, and Battenkill Books is a very good one. We intend to keep it here. Please call 518 677-2515 to order signed, personalized copies of “Going Home: FInding Peace When Pets Die” out next week from Random House.
The “Going Home” page is up and running for those of you who wish to share images and thoughts about your lost pets, living and gone. It will remain up as a permanent memorial and testament to the animals we love and the way we feel about their lives and loss.
And come and see this very special woman and mother and friend read from it: