How Animals Heal Us: The perfect book for the animal lover in your life
Jay Griffiths has long been admired for writing about the natural world with unusual intensity, and this book is no exception. It's a rich, wide-ranging exploration of something many animal lovers have always sensed but struggled to articulate: that our bonds with other creatures genuinely restore us, body and mind. The evidence Griffiths assembles is striking. She draws on scientific research, historical accounts, and Indigenous wisdom to build a compelling case. You'll encounter a pot-bellied pig who intervened to save her owner's life, lions who stood guard over an abducted girl, and dogs trained to detect cancer through scent alone. These aren't feel-good anecdotes. They point to something far more profound. The book also ventures into quieter, more intimate territory. Animal sounds, from the low hum of insects to the rhythmic purring of a cat, carry direct therapeutic value. Donkeys and other animals are shown to offer genuine comfort to those carrying psychological wounds, easing trauma, anxiety, and low mood in ways that conventional treatment sometimes cannot reach. Griffiths pushes further still, arguing that animals have something to teach us at a societal level. Wolves, she suggests, model ethical behaviour. Bees make collective decisions. Monkeys and dogs resist injustice. These observations, handled less carefully, might read as whimsy. Here, they feel genuinely thought-provoking. Playful, open-hearted, and written with Griffiths' characteristic verve, this is a book that leaves you seeing the animal world quite differently. Brian Eno calls it essential, and it's hard to disagree.
- Author: Jay Griffiths
- Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
- Genre: Pet Care & Training
- ISBN: 978-0241614358
- Pages: 336 pages