In the book, Goodbye, Friend, author Gary Kowalski takes you on a journey of healing, offering warmth and sound advice on how to cope with the death of your companion animal. Filled with heartwarming stories and practical guidance on such matters as taking care of yourself while mourning, creating rituals to honor your companion's memory, talking to children about death, and considering death and the continuum of life, Goodbye, Friend is a beautiful and comforting book for anyone grieving the loss of a beloved animal and is a much-needed resource for any grieving companion parent.
The author
shows the need for the Church to recognize bereavement for companion animals in
the same way it recognizes bereavement over human loss and the need to stop
denying the fact that animals have souls and spirits, just as we do.
Through a
series of short chapters, the author walks us through the mourning process of
various individuals through whom we can relate our own losses and look forward
with hope to seeing our lost companions again in heaven. Our feelings of loss
are not unique, but universal among all people of compassion.
He concludes
his book with ideas for creating a memorial service and inspirational readings
from many faiths, past and present.
