"In their innocence and wisdom, in their connection to the earth and its most ancient rhythms, animals show us a way back to a home they have never left." So says Susan Chernak McElroy, a cancer survivor who credits much of her triumph over terminal illness to the love of the animals in her life. From the courage of her dog, Keesha, who taught McElroy how to face challenges with grace and acceptance, to the uncanny victory over leukemia she witnessed in a foundling kitten, McElroy offers a unique and compelling chronicle of her healing journey. In Animals as Teachers and Healers, McElroy shares her story along with other true testaments from many other souls who have been touched, for a moment or for a lifetime, by the loving energies of animals.

Animals as Teachers and Healers

Health, Fitness & Dieting

McElroy, Susan Chernak

Mental Health

Ballantine Books

In her New York Times bestseller Animals as Teachers and Healers, Susan Chernak McElroy movingly explored the wide and enriching horizons of human relationships with animals. In this new volume of reflections and true animal stories, she invites us to broaden and deepen that relationship. While living with her husband and animals on a farm in Oregon, McElroy pondered the ancient bonds that connect humans and animals: the healing gifts of animals, the genius of people who talk to them, and the power of animal messengers. She also asked herself the tough questions that engage every true animal lover. How can we soothe our anguish and guilt when a loved animal suffers or dies? How do we atone for our mistakes? When are animals prisoners and when are they fulfilled? Is it moral to eat other beings? And how can we go about transforming our relationship with animals? Through daily experiences with the animals around her and those in her dreams--along with compelling true stories sent to her by readers--McElroy began to find answers. She discovered that animals are guides in the development of our souls. A frail llama teaches lessons of joy and unconditional love; a barn cat proves that service need not be imprisonment but fulfillment; a mortally injured hawk infuses a cancer patient with renewed strength and faith; an attentive rabbit awakens an abused child from a trance of sadness; and a skinny white horse does more for a damaged six-year-old boy in one hour than any human has done in six years. In this deeply personal yet universal testament to the profound connection between animals and humans, there is wisdom and blessing. As the author reminds us, the fingerprint of God is often a pawprint.

Animals as Guides for the Soul: Stories of Life-Changing Encounters

Self-Help

Wellspring/Ballantine

Reference

Random House Publishing Group

In her bestselling Animals as Teachers and Healers, author and animal advocate Susan Chernak McElroy shared how her beloved animal companions guided and sustained her through her battle with advanced cancer. Twelve years later, when a fire ravaged her mountain home and reduced her emotional security to ashes, once again animals—wild animals this time—provided the guidance that helped her heal and grow through yet another catastropic life change. Writing with a passionate love and respect for the natural world, McElroy invites us to walk with her along the ancient four-footed path that leads through transformation into wholeness. The rattlesnake coiled inches from her hand, the broken-winged hummingbird who sat on her finger and drank sugar water, the red fox and his Saint Bernard playmate—each becomes an incarnation of life-sustaining powers, teaching us better, healthier ways of being in the world. These true stories and a host of others speak to the necessity for ritual, the value of generosity, and how to deal with essential life changes by reconnecting to the earth and its rhythms. McElroy documents rich insights that come from her animal kin—animals in the wild and those in the inner world of dreams and visions. A cougar and her cubs bring balance and harmony to the valley. . . . A friend’s chocolate Lab builds medicine wheels around his human companions, reminding them of the need for community. . . . A cow elk attacked by wolves faces her own mortality stoically, teaching us that endings of one kind herald beginnings of another. But it was the magnificent six-pointed bull elk who ventured into McElroy’s world each day and reappeared in her dreams at night that led her on her most inspirited soul journey through homelessness, divorce, and the deep sense of disengagement that she had felt since cancer had tried to evict her from her body years before. A powerful, beautifully written story of one woman’s journey of personal transition to a genuine sense of belonging in the world, the book ends exactly where it should—in a heartfelt sense of home on earth, a place big enough to welcome all life.

Heart in the Wild: A Journey of Self-Discovery with Animals of the Wilderness

History

Americas

In her bestselling Animals as Teachers and Healers, author and animal advocate Susan Chernak McElroy shared how her beloved animal companions guided and sustained her through her battle with advanced cancer. Twelve years later, when a fire ravaged her mountain home and reduced her emotional security to ashes, once again animals—wild animals this time—provided the guidance that helped her heal and grow through yet another catastropic life change. Writing with a passionate love and respect for the natural world, McElroy invites us to walk with her along the ancient four-footed path that leads through transformation into wholeness. The rattlesnake coiled inches from her hand, the broken-winged hummingbird who sat on her finger and drank sugar water, the red fox and his Saint Bernard playmate—each becomes an incarnation of life-sustaining powers, teaching us better, healthier ways of being in the world. These true stories and a host of others speak to the necessity for ritual, the value of generosity, and how to deal with essential life changes by reconnecting to the earth and its rhythms. McElroy documents rich insights that come from her animal kin—animals in the wild and those in the inner world of dreams and visions. A cougar and her cubs bring balance and harmony to the valley. . . . A friend’s chocolate Lab builds medicine wheels around his human companions, reminding them of the need for community. . . . A cow elk attacked by wolves faces her own mortality stoically, teaching us that endings of one kind herald beginnings of another. But it was the magnificent six-pointed bull elk who ventured into McElroy’s world each day and reappeared in her dreams at night that led her on her most inspirited soul journey through homelessness, divorce, and the deep sense of disengagement that she had felt since cancer had tried to evict her from her body years before. A powerful, beautifully written story of one woman’s journey of personal transition to a genuine sense of belonging in the world, the book ends exactly where it should—in a heartfelt sense of home on earth, a place big enough to welcome all life. From the Hardcover edition.

Heart in the Wild

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Animals As Teachers & Healers

Random House Value Publishing

2 cassettes / 3 hours Read by the author "In their innocence and wisdom, in their connection to the earth and its most ancient rhythms, animals show us a way back to a home they have never left." So says Susan Chernak McElroy, a cancer survivor who credits much of her triumph over terminal illness to the love of the animals in her life. From the courage of her dog, Keesha, who taught McElroy how to face challenges with grace and acceptance, to the uncanny victory over leukemia she witnessed in a foundling kitten, McElroy offers a unique and compelling chronicle of her healing journey. In Animals as Teachers and Healers, McElroy shares her story along with other true testaments from many other souls who have been touched, for a moment or for a lifetime, by the loving energies of animals.

Animals as Teachers and Healers: True Stories and Reflections

Psychology & Counseling

Random House Audio |

Animals As Teachers & Healers: True Stories & Reflections

The author recounts her recovery from cancer, aided by her love for her dog, Keesha, and offers the stories of others whose lives have been changed by the companionship of animals

Alternative Medicine

Thorndike Pr

Susan Chernak McElroy credits her astounding triumph over cancer to the love of the animals in her life. In Animals as Teachers & Healers she shares her remarkable story along with true stories from others who have been touched by the loving energies of animals.A woman escapes an abusive relationship by observing how her boyfriend treated her two Arabian horses . . . a German shepherd cocoons its body around a toddler during a house fire . . . a coyote gives a couple wisdom about their rebellious daughter . . . a little three-legged frog imparts a valuable lesson to a frightened nine-year-old girl. Unique and compelling, Animals as Teachers & Healers invites us to reconnect with the boundless gifts of joy, wisdom, and deep healing that flow from our ageless and intimate relationship with the animal kingdom.

Animals As Teachers And Healers

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Pets & Animal Care

Peter Smith Pub Inc

The author shares her explorations of feminism, Buddhism, and Jewish mysticism and explains how she came to find wisdom through observing the relationship between people and animals. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Animal Grace: Entering a Spiritual Relationship With Our Fellow Creatures

Randour, Mary Lou

Religion & Spirituality

New World Library

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Books by McElroy, Susan Chernak