by Courtney Gustafson
Crown, 2025. 241 pages. Memoir
When Courtney Gustafson moved into a rental house, she didn’t know that the property came with 30 feral cats. In a new relationship, during a pandemic, with poor mental health and a job that didn’t pay enough, she was reluctant to spend her own time or money caring for the animals. But the cats didn’t give her a choice. She had no idea they would help pierce a personal darkness she’d wrestled with for much of her life. She also didn’t expect that the social media accounts she created to share the quirky lives of the cats would end up saving her home. Taking care of the cats reshaped her understanding of empathy, resilience, and the healing power of showing up for something outside yourself.
A memoir about cats? Sign me up! Along with the
cat antics and lovely writing, one of the most enjoyable elements of this
memoir is the author’s earnest self-reflection. She asks herself some tough
questions: How can she invest so much in something else when she is
struggling herself? How much obligation does she have to the suffering animals
(and humans) she encounters? What are her motivations? Though much of the book is emotional and
introspective, Poet’s Square is also a delight to read. I love
how the author describes the cats and their idiosyncrasies. Gustafson is a keen
observer, and that attention shines through in her writing. A tender story of
resilience and the importance of care, this is a book perfect for animal
lovers and memoir enjoyers alike.
If you like Poet’s Square, you might also like:
by Charles Bukowski
Ecco, 2017. 118 pages. Nonfiction
Felines touched a vulnerable spot in the unfathomable soul of Charles Bukowski, the Dirty Old Man of American letters. On Cats brings together the acclaimed writer's reflections on the animals he so admired. Bukowski's cats are fierce and demanding -- he captures them stalking their prey, crawling across his typewritten pages; waking him up with claws across the face. But they are also affectionate and giving, sources of inspiration and gentle, insistent care. Poignant yet free of treacle, On Cats is an illuminating portrait of this one-of-a-kind artist and his unique view of the world, witnessed through his relationship with the animals he considered among his most profound teachers.
by Chloe Dalton
Pantheon Books, 2025. 285 pages. Memoir
Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, and that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, this became her unexpected reality. Raising Hare chronicles their journey together, while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore.
by Kwane Stewart
HarperOne, 2023. 304 pages. Memoir
Full of warm and inspiring stories of human-animal relationships, this unforgettable and powerful memoir follows a struggling veterinarian's nine-year journey caring for pets and their humans who are living on the streets, showing animals provide more than companionship, they offer love, hope and a sense of security.
RP
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