Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

I had a border collie named Chance. He was the first dog my husband and I got after we got married, and when he died - 3 well-guarded kids and squirrel-free yard later - we mourned his loss. Like Weiskircher’s dogs, and his wife, Chance died of cancer. We only suspected his illness after it was far too late to attempt any treatment; it was in his spleen. There are still times I tear up thinking about how much I love that dog still. He was a dog who instinctively protected, patrolled, and processed everything that needed to happen in the order it needed to happen. Reading Flying Geese and the Hope Dogs, most chapters reminded me of Chance. While I don’t associate his loss with the loss of a beloved spouse, I was constantly enchanted with the portraits of Genie intertwined with his dogs, and on some level was able to engage with the story through its twists in turns, in part because I too have been surrounded by dogs for most of my life. I’m grateful to be ab...

Heartbreak: New Approaches to Healing - Recovering from Lost Love and Mourning by Ginette Paris My rating: 5 of 5 stars Heartbreak is common occurrence, a shared experience as part of the human condition. The thing is, when we experience it, we are sure that we are the only one, or at least we are the worst example of it. We are not of course, and the way your brain processes this type of loss can greatly affect future relationships. How do we move past our greatest traumas, and not only survive but thrive? I am a social worker, and deal with clients who experience grief, loss, heartbreak and trauma. I LOVED this text, and at certain points - particularly when talking about “Big Mommy” and staying in an infantile state rather than moving past your grief - made me quite literally applaud. I think that while academic, this is written in an easily accessible, conversational style that anyone can understand. Indeed, I think it is quite critical for those of us in the helping profess...