A Snowflake in My Hand Book

OMG! I totally forgot I had this book! Somehow, it was lost in the shuffle and I just (joyously) came across it the other day. I sat down and read it almost at once, smiling, laughing, and weeping the whole time. I found it beautiful and touching, heartbreaking and heartwarming. How hard the jobs of these vets and techs must be, to work with such sick animals, but how gratifying. Mooney really hits on some deeply true sentiments concerning life, cats, love, loss, and (especially) the special bond between people and pets. While the writing, overall, isn't astounding, her sentiments are and she has moments of such simple truths, words that strike such a resounding chord, that it is easy to overlook the "literary" faults.

In fact, I have to share my favorite quote, which struck me so deeply and made me think of all the cats I have met and loved, in my own home, others, and the sometimes heartbreakingly sad world of the local pound:

'I remember a doctor at the hospital asking me...what was so special about that cat. "She's only a little black cat," he said. As though there were millions, or even one, just like her.

One evening my mother called, and while we talked she asked me how my little black cat was doing. I tried to answer but could not. After a long pause she asked, "When did it happen?"

"Thanksgiving morning," I replied.

"I'm so sorry, dear. But you had a such nice vacation together, and she had a good life with you."

But it was not enough.

"And you have your others."

But it was not the same.

No, dear author, it is not the same, is it? No matter how much you love the others, even if you love them more, it is never the same, and it is never enough.