Sarah Chauncey on dealing with the lack of a pet, the drawing that turned the beginning of the e-book, and being counterintuitive.
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The grief we really feel on the lack of a pet continues to be a sort of disenfranchised grief. Sarah Chauncey’s PS. I Love You Extra Than Tuna is a poignant and touching meditation on pet loss, superbly illustrated by Francis Tremblay. It is the proper present for anybody who has misplaced a cat, or certainly any sort of pet. It made me cry (however in a great way) and I’ve given it to associates to assist deliver them consolation once they have misplaced their pet.
You’ll be able to hear Sarah Chauncey speak in regards to the e-book at Bark! Fest, the e-book pageant for animal lovers. She’s on a panel referred to as Our Bond with Cats with Sarah Chauncey, Sassafras Patterdale (Lowrey), and Rachel Wells.
P.S. I Love You Extra Than Tuna is obtainable from all good bookstores, together with by way of Bookshop (and Bookshop UK) which assist impartial bookstores, in addition to my Amazon retailer.
Beneath, Sarah Chauncey solutions my questions in regards to the e-book, and shares the drawing that began all of it.
Why did you write this e-book?
When my first soul-cat, Hedda, died in 2016, I couldn’t discover a lot on-line that addressed pet loss grief, particularly round cats. An artist good friend of mine despatched me a sketch of Hedda with a be aware “from” her that ended “p.s. I really like you greater than tuna.” Via my tears, I assumed that may be an ideal identify for a pet loss present e-book, and the imaginative and prescient was born. Via my tears, I assumed that may be an ideal identify for a pet loss present e-book, and the imaginative and prescient was born. That good friend, Francis, turned the illustrator for the e-book.
{Our relationships} with animals are distinctive—pets see and settle for features of us we’d be hesitant to indicate one other human. But we stay in a tradition that largely denies the ability of the human-animal bond, so when an animal good friend dies, family and friends usually don’t know what to say, or they are saying unhelpful issues, like “Can’t you simply get one other one?” I needed Tuna to supply readers comfort and inspiration—and their associates, the consumers, the power to supply tangible consolation.
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| The unique sketch by Francis Tremblay that in the end led to this e-book. |
What are the primary themes of your e-book?
That all the pieces that’s born ultimately dies. Saying goodbye is painful, and now we have to grieve, however it doesn’t imply something is mistaken. That is simply a part of the human life expertise, like love.
The primary regulation of thermodynamics says that vitality can’t be created or destroyed; it will probably solely change type. Like us, our animals are stardust—the iron of their blood, just like the iron in ours, is similar mineral that makes Mars crimson. A caterpillar has to die in type earlier than a butterfly can emerge from the very same natural materials. So regardless that our animal associates’ our bodies are gone, the life vitality that animated them will not be. It’s throughout us, all the time.
What stunned you when you had been writing the e-book?
How little it truly needed to do with ‘writing’. I’ve been knowledgeable inventive author for nearly 40 years, and the primary draft got here pouring out in about two hours (the e-book solely comprises 500 phrases). In contrast, as a lot of my associates have identified, my common e mail comprises not less than twice that quantity!
It’s humorous that my most seen ‘success’ occurred with little or no of my very own enter. But—that is my shock on the response—almost each reader has mentioned that it made them cry in a great way and helped them to heal. That was true whereas I used to be writing it, too—I cried each time I learn the traces.
Inform me one thing about your writing course of and the way it formed this e-book.
TUNA was completely different than something I’d ever written earlier than. That I may in some way write one thing that turned out to be so highly effective in lower than 500 phrases nonetheless amazes me.
To pay the payments, I’m a non-public writing coach and developmental editor, and with that hat on, my course of tends to be “spend plenty of time in nature and with animals,” as a result of each of these permit my thoughts to calm down and my unconscious to supply up concepts. I’ve written extra about this on Jane Friedman’s web site and for Author’s Digest (July/August 2024).
Who will particularly take pleasure in this e-book?
First, anybody who’s grieving the lack of a cat, who anticipates shedding a cat, or who loves cats. That’s the obvious viewers. I assumed it will solely be the primary group, however readers have instructed me that even individuals with wholesome younger cats have appreciated it.
Though the primary character is a cat, the e-book has been given to individuals grieving every kind of animal associates, from canine to bunnies, birds, horses and ferrets (amongst others). The cat’s journey is a metaphor for all of us, human and non-human alike.
The concept was/is for associates, household, neighbours and colleagues to offer this e-book to somebody who’s grieving; that half grew out of my very own expertise with a day by day giving apply. The apply brings me a lot pleasure that I needed to share that, too. In fact, it’s positive for anybody to purchase the e-book for themselves, too!
What are you engaged on proper now?
On the Tuna entrance, I’ve a Substack the place I share tips about caring for a senior or ailing pet, getting ready for the eventual loss, and navigating that loss. I solely ship about one e-newsletter a month, however there’s plenty of useful content material within the archive.
My ardour venture, The Counterintuitive Information to Life, comes from hundreds of notes I took over the course of seven years of solitary contemplation and deep interior work. It’s about serving to individuals discover interior peace by studying tips on how to query their conditioning and launch what isn’t serving them. Many people undergo life on autopilot—I actually did for many years—with out questioning why we’re so inflexible round sure beliefs or why we behave specifically methods. In my expertise, discovering peace is a mixture of slowing manner down, creating self-awareness abilities, unpacking our conditioning, and studying to navigate the inherent paradoxes of life. These additionally contribute to making a extra equitable world. My intention is that this can ultimately result in a Counterintuitive Information e-book collection.
And naturally, I’m nonetheless working as a developmental editor and author coach, a lot of which I do with my present cat, Ariel, perched on my lap.
Each week, I make a degree of spending not less than sooner or later immersed in nature. I stay on the standard and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples and the Snuneymuxw First Nation, and I’m grateful to have the ability to discover untouched nature repeatedly.
“Though the primary character is a cat, the e-book has been given to individuals grieving every kind of animal associates.”
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