Heartfelt accounts of restorative experiences with animals.
A memoir about a man’s love for his horse along with a collection of anecdotes about others’ unique experiences with animals.
Rowland, author of Unspoken Message (2013), returns in this memoir to continue the story of his beloved horse, Pal. This book is split into two parts: Rowland’s short account of his family’s decision to sell their farm and his horses, including Pal, and a collection of stories about others’ connections to their animals. As a cancer survivor and animal lover, Rowland believes in the mystical powers of the animal kingdom: “All of them are magical and highly advanced sentient beings capable of showing us the truth about this universe, but we have to be open to see what they show.” He discusses how and why he made the hard decision to sell the farm and relocate to be with his wife’s aging parents in Maine, forcing him to say goodbye to Pal. In a last effort to connect to him, Rowland hired a horse psychic to read Pal’s mind. His story is quirky and lively, but unfortunately it’s rendered in plain prose, which, to some extent, he counters with a conversational style, often addressing readers directly. The second part of the book is more interesting. The author chronicles others’ experiences with animals, from those who’ve made spiritual connections to their horses to a person with PTSD discovering a horse’s healing potential. Not every anecdote is based on equines. A former real estate agent happened upon and saved a badly injured 25-pound snapping turtle, for example. Rowland characterizes the rescue as more than a lucky human intervention for the turtle: “I am one to believe once the universe finds people with open minds to its enchanted ways, it sends even more to you.” Animal lovers will appreciate the sometimes-dramatic stories of animals rescuing humans and vice versa. While details are occasionally scant, the efforts here are passionate and authentic.
Heartfelt accounts of restorative experiences with animals.Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982255-55-8
Page Count: 282
Publisher: BalboaPress
Review Posted Online: April 22, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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