Published by Broadleaf Books on June 25, 2024
Genres: Non-Fiction
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Experiencing the death of a beloved pet can be profoundly difficult, and it can be challenging to find real support and comfort during this time. Where do you turn? Written by Barbara Allen, creator of a groundbreaking chaplaincy program in the largest animal hospital in the southern hemisphere, Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart acknowledges the deep pain that pet loss causes and offers gentle guidance on how to navigate this difficult time. Grounded in practical advice and research that pet owners can draw on for real help for their broken hearts, this book offers strategies for honoring loss and our own grieving process. We will also see that we are not alone in our grief and how we process it as Allen introduces us to famous people and their pets and explores how pets have been memorialized in various cultures, including through prayers, funeral and burial services, condolence cards, and mourning jewelry. Inevitably, those experiencing the death of a pet will ask about the afterlife of animals. Will they meet their beloved companion again? Allen explores long-held teachings in religious traditions--Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and especially her own, Christian tradition--to look for answers, comfort, and reassurance. With this holistic and useful approach, you'll find the support you need for navigating your grief, meaningful ways to memorialize your beloved pet, and the spiritual and emotional care you need during this tender time.
If you’ve ever had a pet, then most likely you’ve had to navigate the loss of that pet. The human lifespan is immense in comparison to the natural lifespans of most domesticated animals and our proclivity to love also means a proclivity for loss—we will, if we allow a pet into our lives, eventually inevitably have to navigate its loss. Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart is a compassionate guide for navigating the grief that comes with such a loss, written by Barbara Allen—Australia’s first animal hospital chaplain.
Allen is an ordained pastor in Australia’s Uniting Church, volunteers with an organization that uses dogs to help children become confident readers, and is daily engaged as a chaplain helping folks deal with the loss of a pet. As such, she’s the perfect person—professionally and personally—to help readers sit with their grief, offering a blend of personal anecdotes, cultural insights, and practical advice aimed at providing solace during a difficult time.
The book is structured into several sections, each addressing different aspects of pet loss and grief. The first section introduces readers to the concept of grieving for a pet, emphasizing the validity and depth of such grief. There’s an old-school mentality that animals are just animals and we shouldn’t feel as deeply about them as we do and while that mentality is passing away in most places, there can still be a vestige of shame about grieving the death of a pet. Allen assures us that grief is natural—even holy—as it stems from love and from God’s mandate for creation care.
The second section covers the natural question that follows the death of a pet: “Do pets go to heaven?” Allen writes that in her role as a chaplain at an animal hospital, this theological question comes mostly from the ‘unchurched’ and she sees that question as part of a deeper question about the crux of faith and belief. If there is a God and a heaven, and if God is love, then my pet must be there, right? Allen explores different faith traditions and their various but all kind of similar perspectives. This is probably the most technical part of the book and, if you’re actively navigating a pet loss, you may not want to read all of it—just the parts that pertain to your faith tradition—but I found it interesting (and assuring) that all people across all religions have navigated this question.
Allen also includes a section aimed specifically at children, helping them to see their grief. And then Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart concludes with a number of practical things that one can do to process grief and begin the process of healing.
In conclusion, Broken Heart, Shared Heart, Healing Heart is a valuable resource for anyone grieving the loss of a pet. You may end up with a few people who are annoyed that the book isn’t strictly from a Christian perspective, but the role of a chaplain is to be inclusive of all faiths and that is the role Allen functions within in this book. Her empathetic writing and comprehensive exploration of grief provide both comfort and practical advice. For anyone grappling with the loss of a pet, Allen’s book offers a compassionate and reassuring guide through the grieving process.