Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies Book Review

 

About the Book: Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies is a unique pet loss book - it is a book, workbook, journal, and keepsake in one. The author invites readers to become active participants in the healing process by journalling, doing healing exercises, and placing photos. When a reader completes the grieving process with this book, it becomes a keepsake the pet parent can cherish for a lifetime. 

The author, Reagan J. Pasternak, shares her own story of loss and offers comfort and insight to readers as they go through the grieving process. Reagan Pasternak draws on her own experiences, philosophy, religion, and literature to help create a safe space where readers can exploree and experience their feelings after the death of a beloved pet. 

My Thoughts: One thing I love about this book is that the author recognizes and validates how difficult losing a beloved pet is. She also stresses the fact that everyone's grieving journey will be different - there is no "right" way to grieve, and there is no "right" amount of time to grieve. 

I have lost two cats in my adult life - Jewel and Lita. My heart shattered both times, but my grief journey with each loss was incredibly different. 

With Jewel, I was incredibly sad about her life. I was upset that I could only spoil her for two years. I was upset that she didn't feel the love she should have her entire life. I was heartbroken that she didn't get all the love and care she deserved from the time she was a kitten. 

With Lita, I knew she had a good life for most of her life. My dad gave her to me when she was only a year old, and we had 14 wonderful years together. I felt an incredible amount of guilt over her death, though. 

I am sure o through completely different grief journeys when it is time for my other precious companions to go to the Rainbow Bridge.

I also really like how the author emphasizes focusing on the love you shared with your companion. She acknowledges how easy it can be to focus on your companion's suffering and death, his or her last moments. She encourages readers to acknowledge and experience those memories for a short time but gently pushes readers to refocus their attention on the love they shared with their pet. 

Though my guilt over Lita's death has subsided over time, it does creep up occasionally from time to time. It's not something I've talked about in detail to hardly anyone because I don't want to traumatize friends with the details of her final moments. Her death is my biggest regret, knowing that I gave our vet permission to give Lita the antibiotic injection that would cause neurotoxicity and take her from us. 

Reagan's reminder to focus on all the love I had with Lita is helpful. She and I had so many wonderful years together. Everyone, including Lita, knows I would have gone to the ends of the earth for her if it would have saved her. She was such a sweet and special kitty, and I am sure she doesn't blame me for giving the okay to give her that antibiotic injection. 

Griffin's Heart helps readers move through the grieving process by reflecting upon and writing about the experiences they shared with their pet. Personally, I process things best by writing them down, so I appreciate that this book gives readers the space to journal. My only "complaint" would be that as a writer, I tend to be rather wordy, and there wasn't as much room as I'd like for reflecting on some of the questions. 

There are also plenty of places for photos of your beloved pet in the book, which I loved. After you're done with all the journalling exercises and photo placement, the book becomes a precious keepsake you can enjoy for years to come. The book comes with a nice sleeve to protect your memories. 

I think Griffin's Heart would make a wonderful git for any grieving pet parent, whether that's yourself or someone you care about. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is going through the grieving process. 

About the Author: Reagan J. Pasternak is a Canadian-born actress. She has had roles in HBO's Sharp Objects, HULU's Being Erica, and BET's Ms. Pat. She is also a singer and a writer. Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies is her debut book. 

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of "Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies," by Reagan J. Pasternak for a fair and hones review. Receiving the book did not influence my opinions in any way. All opinions expressed on Fur Everywhere are my own.