The Book Tour kicked off nearby Monday. Maria and I went to Saratoga Springs, but the bookstore was sold out. We drove to Albany for an interview on WAMC with Joe Donahue and then to Barnes & Noble in Colonie. Tomorrow I do interviews and spend the afternoon signing books at the Battenkill Bookstore – a lot of new orders coming in (518 677-2515) for signed and personalized books.

The reading was wonderful, the audience intense – so many were crying and I never saw so much pain in the eyes of an audience I have spoken to. The questions were very strong, very thoughtful and I learned a lot.

People responded to the idea that their guilt was in their heads, not in reality. That most of us give our animals good lives and ought to feel good about that. We talked about perspective and the context in which grieving occurs. But there is a tremendous amount of suffering there, and people are struggling to process it. I am glad I wrote the book. Writers are not used to talking and speaking in such an emotional environment – I am not. But it as uplifting and affecting. I am shocked at the effect of this blog. More people worried about missing Simon’s bray on the book tour than almost anything else (they are worried about Rose also). I assured them that I wouldn’t be traveling for the while month, and we would hear regularly from Simon, if not every day. A thoughtful grief counselor said she thought it was important for people to ratify their grief, to express it. We talked about the non-animal loving population and how difficult it was for them to appreciate the depth of grief.

I said the subject was, but that didn’t mean the reading and discussions needed to be. And they weren’t. I will have to figure out with the bookstores how to manage the long lines of people wanting books signed. It’s not a bad problem to have. If all of the readings are like this, I need to be prepared for a lot of emotion and feeling. For a writer, that is not a bad thing. I’m wiped out, so heading for bed. Maria did a ton of driving and I am grateful to her. She will get some rest when I head West next week