My Cat Saved My Life

Rating:
Summary: Touched My Heart
Review: Anyone that lives with and loves animals will be touched by this book. The author spins a lovely yarn of how the cat helped him through hard times but at one point he becomes too deeply involved in his own story of depression. I found myself skimming through that part and wanting to get on with the cat adventures. I read a lot of deep psychological selections and wanted this one for a light, easy read, uplifting evening. I did find it enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Review: At one of the lowest points in my life, having just lost my beloved dog, I found Mr. Phillip Schreibman's poem "Where Do We Go From Here?" about his cat, Alice, which expessed so poignantly exactly what I was feeling. I was so amazed that someone else knew and understood the deep, dark pain of losing a precious companion animal! I was so moved by his poem that I contacted Mr. Schreibman by e-mail to thank him. I then discovered his book "My Cat Saved My Life". Reading this at just the time when I needed it most helped me through a very painful time. You will find this insightful book helpful and healing.

Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: Being a cat-lover I'm often drawn to books about them, I usually try to avoid buying because most turn out to be sweet but with little substance..Thank goodness I didn't resist MY CAT SAVED MY LIFE by Phillip Schreibman.This book touched me immensely...as time passes I realize more and more so much of life is about goodbyes and losing the people we love. This book helps answer how to go on living, the part grief must play and yes how so many lessons our animals (and for me that is cats:) can teach us if only we open our hearts. A book I know I'll read often and turn to to be reminded what life has to offer if only we will accept...

Rating:
Summary: A Must-read For Anyone who is Lost and Grieving
Review: Don't let the title or short length of this book fool you - it contains a huge amount of wisdom. You don't have to be a cat lover to appreciate what the author is going through and what he learns. He has put exactly into words what I have been thinking for a long time. He has done an amazing job.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Animals Are Our Best Friends
Review: I have always been of the belief that animals can be enormously beneficial to the emotional well-being of humans, and have always loved animals, cats in particular. This book is small, but don't be fooled: it is a true emotional roller coaster that gets to the essence of the human-animal emotional bond better than any other book I have read.

Phillip Schreibman was grieving over the loss of both of his parents after long, tortuous illnesses. He had found himself inconsolable and depressed. Much to his surprise the one who finally led him out of his depression was a tiny little orphaned kitten he took in and named Alice. Over her lifetime she managed to teach him important lessons he had never understood before, and ultimately even prepared him for her own passing. There is no question that there is great sadness in this book, but it is ultimately uplifting, as the lessons Phillip learned from "Cat School", as he called it, let him regain a firm foothold on his own life.

This book was particularly touching to me as it paralleled an encounter with a kitten, "Ghost Blimp" (a.k.a. "Gloovis") who I took in when she was a tiny ball of fur, and who graced my life for seven years, like Alice. Although those seven years were far too short, in that time her presence helped me recover from the loss of my father. My point here in telling you this is that the lessons Schreibman learns from Alice are universally applicable to other lives as well. I believe that whatever animal you choose to keep company with has lessons to teach you.

My only critique of the book would be a disagreement with a couple of the specific conclusions that Schreibman draws about "Creation" versus "Culture." Having said that, it is his book, and the conclusions he draws are important for him to tell. Everyone would have slightly different conclusions after going through events like those relayed here, but that does not diminish the power of this little book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is grieving for any reason, particularly after the loss of a loved one, and also to any animal lover. Thank you Phillip, and thank you, Alice, even more for this beautiful book.


Rating:
Summary: A true insight into cats
Review: I loved this book! It was so refreshing to read from a man's point of view about the closeness he shared with his cat. The book took the reader into the very depth of cat personalities. Sometimes very humerous, sometimes very sad, I lived this cat's life through Mr. Schreibman's words. Mr. Schreibman was lucky to have Alice, but Alice was a very lucky cat to have an owner/friend who could relate to her in a very special way.

Rating:
Summary: sob fest
Review: if you like to cry, then read this book! of course, it's not heart - wrenchingly sad the entire way, but when you get to the part where ... well ... read the book & you'll see what i mean. i don't think i've ever sobbed so hard over a book in my entire life -- it even disturbed my cats! they thought something must be terribly wrong with me, because i was crying so hard, & so they came over to comfort me. here i was crying over a cat i had never met in my life & my cats came over to comfort ME. just like a cat! & that's why i love them so much ... so anyway, if you don't like to cry, or if you find yourself moved by very little in life, this might not be the book for you. the book is also tied together with schreibman's own brand of touchy - feely, new - agey spirituality -- if you can overlook that, or if you actually like that sort of thing, then reading this book might turn out to be a profoundly moving experience for you, as it was for me.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Important Thing
Review: Phillip Schreibman's wonderful book is about so much more than a cat. It is about no less than the true nature of the universe. His beautiful prose belong on the book shelf with the Bhagavad Gita and other texts that we turn to when we need to be reminded what we are doing here on this earth, in these bodies, with this little bit of time.

Rating:
Summary: The love of a pet is one of the greatest gifts of all
Review: Reading Phillip Schreibman's book, "My Cat Saved My Life", was hard for me to do at first. That's because not long before, I too had lost a very special cat who was killed by a car when he was only 3 years old. But with each new page that I read, I began to share in the calming realization that I was not alone in my loss. And happily, I was also not alone in experiencing the gift of a pet's unselfish and total love. Anyone who has ever known the companionship of an animal will immediately identify with this book. Phillip has perfectly captured the very essence of the Human-Animal Bond through his skilled writing. Although we are told that this book is "a small story in the stories of the world", it is truly a delight to be invited to share in the adventures of Alice, and the very special relationship that was formed between man and cat. I thoroughly enjoyed each warm and touching anecdote that came straight from the heart, and it is easy to see how Alice had such a strong impact on Phillip as she truly "saved his life". Be prepared to gain a much greater appreciation for the times you spend with your beloved furry friend.........and don't forget the kleenex!

Rating:
Summary: The love of a pet is one of the greatest gifts of all
Review: Reading Phillip Schreibman's book, "My Cat Saved My Life", was hard for me to do at first. That's because not long before, I too had lost a very special cat who was killed by a car when he was only 3 years old. But with each new page that I read, I began to share in the calming realization that I was not alone in my loss. And happily, I was also not alone in experiencing the gift of a pet's unselfish and total love. Anyone who has ever known the companionship of an animal will immediately identify with this book. Phillip has perfectly captured the very essence of the Human-Animal Bond through his skilled writing. Although we are told that this book is "a small story in the stories of the world", it is truly a delight to be invited to share in the adventures of Alice, and the very special relationship that was formed between man and cat. I thoroughly enjoyed each warm and touching anecdote that came straight from the heart, and it is easy to see how Alice had such a strong impact on Phillip as she truly "saved his life". Be prepared to gain a much greater appreciation for the times you spend with your beloved furry friend.........and don't forget the kleenex!