I’ve Loved Animals My Whole Life
I’ve also wanted to write a book for most of my life. Knowing these two facts about myself, one would think I would have been inspired to write a book about our fabulous furry friends a long time ago. But unfortunately, and for too many years, perfection and insecurity proved more powerful bedfellows than inspiration. And like bullies, they often quashed my most cherished dream.
They Say Everything Happens In Its Own Time
Over the years I’ve learned a lot about what I needed to know in order to write my book, Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse: an animal lover’s guide to a healthy, happy & extraordinary life! I’ve learned about health and wellness by getting my master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and opening my private practice, Modern Alchemy Acupuncture. I’ve also spent decades helping animals as an animal activist. Experience has given me my share of bumps, bruises, and emotional concussions along the way. But in retrospect it was my 6-pack of rescue dogs and cats whose friendship and love inspired me to write my book, finish it, and to my surprise have it become an award-winning and #1 Amazon best-selling book.
“An Animal’s Eyes Have The Power To Speak A Great Language.” Martin Buber
The quiet nudge of a wet nose against my leg distracting me from too much time spent on my computer; the soothing purrs and mews greeting me in the night when I’d wake up crying after my divorce; and locking into my cat or dogs’ gaze as they looked beyond my eyes and into my soul to let me know it was time to say their final goodbye – these were some of the countless inspirations that led me to write my book. Because of my four-legged motley crew, a voice I kept under wraps for a lifetime finally dared to speak not only through the pages of my book, but also on television, radio, and standing in front of an audience. It’s a life I secretly dreamed about and only came to realize once I became mindful of my deep connection to my animal friends.
My Name May Be On The Cover …
…but it takes a village to write a book. There have been many contributors to Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse, including my fabulous editor Krissa Lagos who took my words and made them sing, my publisher Brooke Warner who believed in me enough to select me as one of the 2016 woman writers for She Writes Press, my illustrator Giulia Notari whose illustrations speak for themselves, and my husband Ken, whose unwavering support makes me feel like I won the cosmic lottery. But in the end it is my six animal friends to whom I am forever grateful for loving and inspiring me with their presence, their trust, and their love.
Stay Pawsitive!
Carlyn
“ ….to Cody, Jester, Teddy, Roxy, Rudy, and Dakota, my six-pack of dogs and cats—rescues who have returned this small kindness with steadfast friendship, unconditional love, and the inspiration for this book. I definitely got the better deal.” – Carlyn Montes De Oca (author, Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse)
Check-Out my new video on The Simply Pawsitive Show
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