Customer Reviews

A Snowflake in My Hand

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The affecting cover painting drew me to buy this book, and it changed my life--I'm not exaggerating. I ended up requiring it for my college "Psychology of Loss" class and recommending it to my "People & Animals" class. Samantha Mooney grasps the preciousness and depth of each cat's life as she recalls the feline personalities she met on the animal cancer ward where she worked. Better than any professional manual I've read, Mooney's deceptively slim volume presents the issue of an animal's "quality of life," and its place at the core of deciding whether and when to euthanize a beloved, sick companion animal. Blending genuine emotion with her professional commitment to care and assistance, Mooney captures the fragility of these brief lives--like snowflakes melting in the warmth of the human hand that would save their beauty and uniqueness--these brief lives that share and change our own. I came to love every cat remembered in these pages as I read and reread them, particularly Fledermaus, Mooney's tiny, mysterious friend, who has affected Mooney most of all. I passionately recommend this gem of a book to any reader interested not only in cats and any of the animals with whom we share the world, but also anyone who must deal with questions about the meaning and quality of life, the possibilities and limits of medical care, and the ways we risk love--and face grief in the wake of loss. I treasure my dog-eared (!) copy of "A Snowflake in My Hand," and though I wish I knew Samantha Mooney personally, still I feel I have gotten to know her as well as the cats in her life, and to feel they are friends. As long as we keep our loved ones in memory, we do not lose them.

I have not read the book only listened to the tape (the book is on back order). I and my wife have a deep and long time love for our 6 (yes six) cats and these tapes only served to not only deepen those feelings but to better understand how our lives are so much better because of them. I also work with students in the field of patient care (people patients)and will use this set of tapes to help them better understand those patients that they will be working with once out of school. If we are able to give unconditional love for others the way cats give there love.... oh what a wonderful world it would be.

The author worked for 10 years on the eighth floor of New York's famous Animal Medical Center - the eighth floor housing the cancer clinic.

All animal people will be deeply moved and inspired by Ms. Mooney's story of cats approaching a prolonged painful death. The little cats she came to know so well through their illnesses, will bring smiles amidst tears with the felines' courage, patience and spiritedness as they face each day living with a terminal illness. This small slim book is filled with warmth and sensitivity of inspiring lessons in human love, joy, loss, and triumph over grief.

A wonderful book. You will meet many charming cats on your jounrey here that will stay with you forever.

Although this book is only 150 pages, it took me a long time to read it. While many things made me smile or laugh out loud, far too many things made me cry and I had to stop reading and set it aside for awhile. I often wondered if I could even finish it, but I am glad that I did. It is a book that truly touches the heart.

Samantha Mooney is able to capture the heartfelt sorrow involved in working with terminal feline patients. Their unconditional love and the trust they place in humans, coupled with the tolerance for treatments that they must find uncomfortable but accept without complaint, is expressed so realistically that the reader will be feeling the pain of each loss along with Samantha. This book is truly written with compassion and love

Hard to believe this book would ever go out of print, or that the author apparently wrote nothing else. I got this book when it first came out, and periodically reread it -- and I'm not even a cat person. A wonderful book, beautifully written, about life, love, loss and renewal. Get a copy, this one is a jewel that shouldn't be missed.

Lyrical, poignant, tender, this is a book clearly written by a cat lover. A slim memoir of her time as an veterinary research assistant in the oncology department of NYC's Animal Medical Center, the author is above all hopeful, despite the inevitable early demise that awaits most of her patients. She knows that while the doctors may not be able to cure the cancers of their feline patients, they can certainly improve the quality of life, allowing the cats to live out their lives as happily as medically possible. Highly recommended.

What a moving account of someone on "the inside" of the world of veterinary medicine. If anyone cannot be touched at the love and compassion of these "angels of mercy" working in the field of animals who are not only ill, but know will never recover, I would hate to believe it. But they have the best kind of love of all - they know the one they love is not going to be around "forever". They are willing to take the chance of being hurt by losing someone they love. And, if we will admit it, that is true of all love. They go into this with their eyes wide open, as should we, knowing that the time we have with those we love is temporary, and we must cherish and make the most of that time.

I too work in an animal rescue role.Not a hospital,my home-I foster cats,over 300.They are a source of joy and laughter and pain and loss.When I read a book that I relate too and can understand the writer's feelings and cry a little and laugh some and think about my own special animals and how fleeting their time with us is.Enjoy your fuzzy friends is a good motto.This book is very highly thought of in my circle of rescue workers and volunteers.Just wear water-proof make-up when reading.I keep a copy in my car-lent it out to special people in need of a good read.Love this book.

No exaggeration here, this book is quite possibly the best book I've ever read - and I've read a LOT of books. I probably average 100-150 books per year and this book stands out like a shining beacon of what a book should be.

Without melodrama or saccharine-laced manipulations, the author manages to successfully illustrate the pain, no, the agony, of watching a beloved animal slip away. She shows the behind the scenes anguish and dedication of those who care for and strive to better the lives of our furry children. Nowhere have I seen animal-human relationships portrayed with such tenderness, sincerety and respect without a trace of the maudlin.

Ms. Mooney does not proselytize nor does she moralize, yet somehow she manages to bring forth a sense of the divine and everlasting bond possible with a special animal. She gives the sense also that however difficult, life does go on and that somehow, it must.

One other important note about this book - With her words, her attitude, and her wisdom, Ms. Mooney does a better job than could 12 trained counselors at helping to appease any guilt a companion person may have at any decisions made out of love for an animal.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever loved an animal or even anyone who has simply had a friendship with one. This book speaks to a level rarely seen or addressed in a simple paperback book.