Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss - by Anne Marie Farage-Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

"Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is designed to help readers understand the bond they have with their pets and why losing them is uniquely painful; aid them in understanding the grief they experience in the aftermath of that loss; and teach them the skills they need to process this loss. In these pages, licensed mental health counselor Anne Marie Farage-Smith offers detailed explanations of the types of grief that one may encounter upon the loss or impending loss of a pet and provides validation for the emotions experienced in relation to that loss. She also reminds readers that help is available, and gives actionable criteria for the reader to determine when professional assistance is needed and how to find it."--

Book Synopsis

Whether you recently lost your cherished pet or know you soon will, this book is for you.

Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is designed to help readers understand the bond they have with their pets and why losing them is uniquely painful; aid them in understanding the grief they experience in the aftermath of that loss; and teach them the skills they need to process this loss. In these pages, licensed mental health counselor Anne Marie Farage-Smith offers detailed explanations of the types of grief that one may encounter upon the loss or impending loss of a pet and provides validation for the emotions experienced in relation to that loss. She also reminds readers that help is available, and gives actionable criteria for the reader to determine when professional assistance is needed and how to find it.

Containing a variety of deliberately open-ended writing exercises Farage-Smith has seen help others to understand and heal their grief, as well as suggestions for a variety of ways to honor and remember one's pet, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is the loving, supportive grief journey companion every bereaved pet parent needs.

Review Quotes

2024 Best Book Awards Winner in Animals/Pet: General
2024 Nonfiction Book Awards Gold Winner

"Healing Wisdom For Pet Loss brings pet grief a legitimacy which has been lacking for far too long. Farage-Smith opens the discussion of pet grief in an accepting and nurturing way, providing the tools to understand and work through the loss of a beloved pet."--Nonfiction Authors Association Judge

"The author--an educator, mental health counselor, and founder of the Rochester Center for Pet Grief and Loss--describes the myriad faces of this kind of loss and outlines strategies and mindsets that may help . . . . Readers who have experienced the trauma of pet loss will deeply appreciate the valuable wisdom in these pages."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is an essential guide for anybody who has loved and lost their faithful, cherished pet. Her compassionate support affirms the ache in a grieving heart and provides tools and resources needed to navigate the grief path. This is a comforting and practical must-read!"
--Lena Kieliszak LMHC NCC, Rochester NY

"Grief leaves a hole in our hearts that surfaces and never quite goes away completely. Finding ways to diminish the sharp cut of loss is so necessary to continue on. Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss is a labor of love and hopefully will ease the painful loss of a pet for every reader."
--Catherine Romaine Brown, author of The Courageous Companion the Jack Russell Terrier and A Guide to the Happy Healthy Pet the Jack Russell Terrier

"As someone who deals with grief and loss of pets on a daily basis, I am eager to share this book with clients as an invaluable resource for helping them through the hardest part of pet ownership. Anne Marie provides wonderful insight to the dynamic challenges of pet loss and the grief that accompanies it in an inclusive and accepting way. Her exercises and writing prompts are so helpful for learning to cope before, during, and after the loss of a beloved pet."
--Dr. Isabel Wylie, VMD

"Losing a pet is among the most painful and transformational experiences that a person can have. . . . Healing Wisdom For Pet Loss is an important and eloquently written book that presents valuable knowledge for pet owners and their mental health providers. I will keep one in my clinical office to loan to clients who have recently lost a pet and at my academic office for students to borrow"
--Robert H. Rice, Jr., PhD, LMHC, Professor, Mental Health Counseling Program Chair, St. John Fisher University

"Written with sensitivity and understanding, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss offers a unique look at our grief reactions related to our pets. . . . I particularly liked this volume's focus on the diverse reactions that people experience, and how working through grief is an individual process that might be different from the reactions of others. I am pleased to recommend this book for all who live with companion animals as well as those who work alongside them. It is a thoughtful and very useful addition to the literature."
--Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, CAEBC-I, founder and president of International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy(R) and coauthor of Animal Assisted Play Therapy

"I understand the unique bond that we have with our beloved pets and the devastation felt when they are lost. This book provides useful tools to help people, including expressing one's feelings in writing, and ways to honor our cherished family members. I appreciate it also addresses hospice and end-of-life decisions. I keep a copy in my hospital."
--Karen Ravanesi, DVM

"As someone who is once again facing the reality of losing a beloved pet, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss could not come at a better time. This book will be on my bedside table, and I will savor every word as I grapple with loss, heal, and move forward."
--Glen E. Duncan, PhD, RCEP

"The loss of a pet is a different experience for everyone. Discussing your grief with others who understand, reading a book written by someone who understands and can explain the whys and hows of why you are feeling the way you do is remarkably helpful. Anne Marie has written such a book, Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss. I encourage anyone grieving the loss of a beloved pet to read this book, learn, and heal from it."
--Shelly Stam, Costume Designer, Fabric Artist GRASP (Greece Residents Assisting Stray Pets) Volunteer, Foster, Previous Board Member

"Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss provides valuable information for all pet parents and for others to help them through this loss. The chapters are designed to provide vital knowledge for pet parents and others who care for our beloved pets. Remembering and honoring our pets when they pass on is essential to our own adjustment and healing from this loss. Farage-Smith presents a wide variety of creative and thoughtful ways to remember and memorialize our beloved pets."
--Patricia M. Casey, BSW

About the Author

Anne Marie Farage Smith is a lifelong animal lover and an advocate for all animals. She holds a master of science degree in mental health counseling from St. John Fisher University and a master of science degree in education from Nazareth University, and is a Pet Loss Grief Counseling Trained Professional. As a licensed mental health counselor and educator in private practice, she has offered clinical guidance to many individuals and groups experiencing grief and loss. She currently resides in Rochester, NY, where she enjoys spending time with her family, visiting local parks with her dog, Jazzy, traveling, and pursuing creative activities.