Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart - by Barbara Allen (Hardcover)

About the Book

Written by Australia's first animal hospital chaplain, this book shares cultural expressions of pet loss, spiritual beliefs on the afterlife for animals, and rituals of memorialization. With tools for self-care as well as emotional and spiritual comfort, this book is the perfect companion for those grieving after a pet dies.

Book Synopsis

Experiencing the death of a beloved pet can be profoundly difficult, and it can be challenging to find real support and comfort during this time. Where do you turn?

Written by Barbara Allen, creator of a groundbreaking chaplaincy program in the largest animal hospital in the southern hemisphere, Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart acknowledges the deep pain that pet loss causes and offers gentle guidance on how to navigate this difficult time. Grounded in practical advice and research that pet owners can draw on for real help for their broken hearts, this book offers strategies for honoring loss and our own grieving process. We will also see that we are not alone in our grief and how we process it as Allen introduces us to famous people and their pets and explores how pets have been memorialized in various cultures, including through prayers, funeral and burial services, condolence cards, and mourning jewelry.

Inevitably, those experiencing the death of a pet will ask about the afterlife of animals. Will they meet their beloved companion again? Allen explores long-held teachings in religious traditions--Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and especially her own, Christian tradition--to look for answers, comfort, and reassurance. With this holistic and useful approach, you'll find the support you need for navigating your grief, meaningful ways to memorialize your beloved pet, and the spiritual and emotional care you need during this tender time.

Review Quotes

"With contemporary stories, historical facts and examples, psychological and sociological research, and even etymologies, Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart reaches across time and place to assure us that for as long as humans have lived with animals, we've felt their loss as a potent grief. And it offers what we've learned about living well with their loss. This book builds a camaraderie of wounded, healing hearts." --Gayle Boss, author of All Creation Waits and Wild Hope

"If you've experienced the love and loss of a treasured nonhuman companion, this gem of a book is for you. Filled with wisdom and compassion, it is a true salve for the grieving heart." --Leah Kaminsky, physician and author of ten books, including Doll's Eye

"Losing a pet is heartbreaking. Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart by Barbara Allen is a beautiful book that recognizes the loss of a pet and offers comfort and guidance by exploring how people process grief, different ways you can honor your pet, and how some religions view the death of a pet. I highly recommend this special book that will bring comfort to those grieving their pet." --Joanna Rowland, author of The Memory Box: A Book about Grief

"Barbara Allen's time as an animal chaplain has given her incredible insight into pet loss and how profound grief can surround the loss of a furry family member. With great love comes great grief, and Allen gives excellent insight into the human-animal bond. We don't discuss grief and death enough as a Western society, and this book gives examples of how other cultures handle the death of a beloved pet and ways we can cope with this profound loss. Pet parents and people in the veterinary field will benefit from reading this comforting and well-written book." --Kaitlin Howard, MSSW, certified pet loss coach at Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice