Book Recommendation: A Veterinarian's Captivating Memoir About Loving and Losing Animals
I've been waiting six months to tell you about THE OTHER FAMILY DOCTOR
I met Karen Fine, DVM, in 2018, when I interviewed her for an article about rethinking pet loss. The article was ‘killed’ (never published), but we kept in touch. Last year, I had the great honour of reading an advance copy of THE OTHER FAMILY DOCTOR: A VETERINARIAN EXPLORES WHAT ANIMALS CAN TEACH US ABOUT LOVE, LIFE AND MORTALITY, and I literally couldn’t put it down. THE OTHER FAMILY DOCTOR comes out next Tuesday, March 14, and I’m as excited as I was about TUNA.
As a child, I devoured the James Herriot books, and I’ve always enjoyed stories of animals, especially told by people who work with them professionally, like Patricia B. McConnell. Karen Fine’s book deserves to be on a shelf with both authors. It’s heartwarming and uplifting and surprisingly humorous, despite a few scenes that might have you reaching for tissues.
The book isn’t entirely about cats, and it’s not entirely about loss and grief, but both are woven throughout. The story of how Dr. Fine became a vet, and some of her most memorable patients, is a compelling page-turner. She addresses others’ losses, as well as her own—feline and canine—with candor and compassion. Every animal lover should have a copy of this book.
Americans (and those who use Amazon US) can find the book here.
Canadians can find the book here.
Please share this post with your social networks and fellow animal lovers. This book is really THAT GOOD.
When you’ve read it, please leave a review on Amazon (or wherever you purchase the book); those reviews help authors immensely, especially in the first six months after publication.