Almost Perfect: The book

Okay, time for a little shameless self-promotion. After all, my new book was the reason I started this blog, and I want to make sure you all know about it.

Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them just came out in October from Enspirio House, an imprint of Word Forge Books. This publisher has several different imprints covering many different subject areas, but Enspirio House covers mind/body/spirit topics -- the perfect place for this fantastic collection of 11 essays by veteran authors and fresh new voices from three countries.

The book's doing well -- even got picked up by Target stores online -- and I can't say I'm surprised. These stories have a power all their own, and once you read one, you'll be hooked, because you'll recognize the truth behind every moving tale.

In a world that reveres perfection and disdains anything less, most of us realize that nothing—and no one—can truly measure up. Yet, when it comes to choosing companion animals, most folks won’t settle for less.

These stories are about those animals who—through birth or injury—have been rendered less than perfect, and the humans who found love enough to welcome them into their hearts and homes. Almost Perfect allows you to share the immeasurable rewards those people have found.

Learn what courage really is from Colbi, a blind Alaskan Husky, as he trades a hellish life in a puppy mill for the challenges of farm living. Be inspired by Ruby, the irrepressible Labrador-Doberman mix who adapts to a devastating muscle-eating disease by learning to truly “roll with the punches.” Follow Cagney, the paraplegic rat, who struggles along with his human “mom” through her Master’s thesis. Be inspired by the joy and grace with which Tux, a handsome black-and-white cat, navigates a life of almost complete paralysis. Root for tiny, blind Idgie to beat the mean streets of Philadelphia and the death sentence of feline leukemia.

Allow yourself to believe once again in the power of the positive, as you read about how loving and caring for "less-than-perfect" pets helps their human counterparts appreciate what it means to be fully alive.

This 128-page book is manageable even in today's hectic schedules, allowing you to read a bit at a time as you find a few moments here and there. It's a refreshing dip into what really matters in life when you feel surrounded--and maybe overwhelmed--by everything else. At $12.95, it makes an affordable gift for the animal lover in your life (even if it's you!).