Customer Reviews

Choosing to Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master

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Kat Tansey has written an absolutely delightful book. The story of how her two cats helped her battle back from severe physical and emotional problems is both captivating and heartwarming. And, the writing is superb. In a day and age where so much writing is only worthy of fast reads, the author's powerful writing had me savoring each and every sentence.

As well written as the book is, the underlying message is even better yet. Those of us who are driven to always be "doing," should heed the author's message to learn to "just be." Certainly not the first author with such a message. But, truly one of the most enjoyable books making that very important point.

Kat Tansey's book, Choosing to Be, is brilliant! The author makes the principles of Buddhism and meditation accessible to everyone by using her cat, Poohbear, as the Zen master.

I have been adopted by many cats in my lifetime (yes, they do adopt you) and always believed in their wisdom and spirituality.

Poohbear, the cat, actually talks and takes the author, Kat Tansey, through her journey from the abyss of chronic fatigue and depression, to her ultimate triumph of rejoining the world.

The beauty of Choosing to Be is that you can give it to anyone, even people who are not into Buddhism and meditation. The stories are wrappers for deeper truths that everyone can relate to.

I loved Choosing to Be and I can't wait to buy the audio book read by Poohbear himself!

I don't normally write reviews, but this author receives special kudos for a book that is not only terribly insightful but is also a book that has tremendous healing potential for those among us who are depressed, healing from a chronic illness, or just trying to get along day to day in a stressful world. The photograph of the young coon cat watching (with great fascination) the water swirl down the bathtub will stay with me always. I am also a great cat lover and appreciate the author's divine connection to the essence of being, as demonstrated to us by these wonderful animals.

Choosing To Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master by Kat Tansey.
As a cat lover I have always known that cats were founts of wisdom whenever they chose to be. Kat Tansey and her personal budda-cat, Poohbear Degoonacoon (a Maine Coon) share the wisdom as a conversation throughout this book.

Chapter by chapter Poohbear doles out slivers of knowledge for those with a desire to learn and to find inner peace.

Choosing To Be truly is an entertaining read written with love and a nice dose of humor along the way. I found that I liked it best when I read one chapter at a time with a break in between, sometimes of a week or more. The conversation was just as fresh when I came back as it was when I left. The young kitten, Catzenbear, is the perfect character who acts and lives out the lessons as only a young kitten can.

Do yourself (and your cats) a favor, pick up Choosing To Be by Kat Tansey today and read it for a long time. Then read it again.

A wonderful book, and a good read. Choosing to Be is the kind of book that you can curl up with in a chair, read and relax - which is perfect, because that is what the book is about. I too have dealt with anxiety for most of my young adult life, and Kat Tansey's journey helped me start my own path of simply "to be."

I highly recommend this book for those with anxiety, who love meditation or are cat lovers in general. And even if you don't appreciate cats or what they can bring into your life, I think that Tansey's journey can help you, too.

There are many ways to beat depression; it is reasonable to believe that each technique successfully used by someone will not work as well for others. It is also a documented fact that elderly people given an opportunity to interact with a pet tend to have better mental performance. Therefore, while the author's technique of having a two-way communication with her cat helping her overcome depression may seem odd, it probably isn't. At least as long as it is not taken to the extreme of seriousness.
Whatever the source of the words attributed to her eldest and wisest cat Poohbear, you cannot deny the wisdom of the message. It is the reality of the human experience that all of us experience the loss of the death of loved ones, "catastrophes" such as flat tires, dead batteries and losing our jobs. Buddhism is not a religion in the western sense of a supreme being capable of intervening in our lives if we find the right channel on the radio of prayer; it is a way of life. One of the key principles is this common experience of loss and personal "catastrophes." As she points out, Tansey also has some unresolved issues with her father that is rooted in the past. Furthermore, now that her mother is suffering from Alzheimer's, those problems are resurfacing in how she views her father's treatment of her mother. No specifics are given, but the triad of her chronic illness, her mother's Alzheimer's and her relationship with her father and it is easy to see how depression could result.
Having a serious two-way conversation with your cat may not be the cure for your bout with depression. Nevertheless, it might just work as well as it did for Tansey and of course a cuddly cat will never fail to make your life interesting. I know of what I speak, having had over ten pet cats in my life. Adopting some of the basic principles of Buddhism, which accepts the problems of life, also did a great deal to help Tansey cope.

This deceptively simple narrative dextrously weaves a tale of survival and renewal around an introduction to meditation and a conversation with a cat (or feline zen master).

I have to admit this last aspect made me a little wary as I started to read; I'm neither a cat lover nor a fan of literary anthropomorphic cuteness (at least not in adult books). However, what Kat Tansey achieves through this device is to seamlessly embed a discourse on meditative practice within her personal chronicle; to underscore the intense loneliness of the depressive with almost zero human interaction; and to create two likeable, entirely "human" characters who add depth, not cutesiness, to her journey.

This account takes us through (the aptly named) Kat's passage from high flying career woman to debilitated chronic fatigue syndrome sufferer and depressive. Her suicidal thoughts are presented without drama and the painful monotony of mental and emotional struggle without self-pity. Equally, her heroic and painful steps back to wellness are depicted with self-deprecating and often humorous honesty and the revelatory "conversations" with Poohbear come across as unaffected and authentic.

Choosing To Be (a clever title evoking Hamlet's soliloquy as well as the Buddha's teachings) is structured around the "lessons" of meditation under the technical headings of Ordinary Mind, The Hindrances and Buddha Mind, which make it an easy-to-follow and inspirational guide book. The fact that Tansey has also written an absorbing memoir with the flair of a fiction writer, however, draws you effortlessly through her story and makes the learning seem incidental - until you reach the end and realise that the tale of a woman, a cat and a kitten has reminded you that there is a better way to live, and how to do it.

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Kat Tansey's book is so refreshing. She takes us on her journey from depression to mastering meditation, not superficially but always with a delightful and light touch.

While she is learning to meditate, Tansey is accompanied, guided and encouraged by her Maine coon cat, Poohbear Degoonacoon - a wise soul as are many mature cats. Into the mix, to add spice and freshness and to embody Buddha Nature, comes Catzenbear, a kitten with endless curiosity and a lot to learn. The two cats are the perfect foil for the serious meditation practices the book has to teach.

As Tansey finds her level as a meditator, she shows us the five Hindrances to meditation defined by Buddhist teachers: the Hindrances of Clinging, Anger, Sleepiness, Restlessness and Doubt. And finally we learn what she has learned about Buddha Mind, ending with a little poem that sums it all up - "The Four Noble Truths in a Nutshell".

I love this book. It hides nothing, teaches much and remains readable and delightful along the way.

I am a beginner in meditation and suffer from Major Depressive Disorder. WOW! is what I can say about this book. It seemed like it came into my life at exactly the time I needed it. "Choosing to Be" is about everything I've been feeling for the past few years and gave me more willingness to sit and just be. I am ordering another copy to take to an inpatient unit that I occasionally go to when my depression becomes unmanageble. I think I may also watch my cats a little more to see if I can glean more tips.

Choosing to Be is one of those little books that one treasures and sets aside to re-read many times. I identify with the writer and her struggle with missing the person she used to be. As we transform and peel our layers we need to learn to let go of who we used to be, otherwise we can't find the joy and peace that our transformation has to offer. This can be difficult. Yet, we learn how we too can do this from Poohbear and Catzenbear, Kat's Maine Coon cats.

There are many wonderful lessons to take from this little book. For me one of the most important ones is finally "getting" that meditation takes time and perseverance to master. We must train our minds to surrender and this can be quite difficult. Like my yoga teacher says: "this is a 10 year project." This long term perspective is what I needed to not give up so easily as I have in the past.

I love the personal relationship Kat has with her cats. It is very touching and made me feel I am not totally crazy :-)