Book Review/Giveaway: Home with Henry by Anne Kaier

From the publisher: When copywriter Anne Kaier stops traffic to rescue a stray cat, neither she nor the cat knows what lies in store ... You'll lose yourself in this witty, true-life story of how Anne hopes a beguiling cat called Henry can help her as a single woman in the amped-up city. But first, how will she lure Henry out from under the bed-when not even her ten-year-old nephew can get him to stir?

I was so honored to be asked to be part of the blog tour for Anne Kaier's new book, Home with Henry. Just looking at the cover I knew it was going to be a very special book, and I was right.

This book is written in journal form as the author chronicles the first year of her life with Henry, as well as starting a new life herself in her very first home. Rejecting the old-fashioned notion that a woman should wait until she's married to buy a house and create a traditional life, they live on their own terms and build a rich and meaningful life together. It's a scary time for both human and cat, but with great patience and love they prove that home and family is what you make it.

Another star of this book is an aging calico, Lucille. In a couple difference passages Anne writes how she can't help but view Henry as a "spare". She knows she won't have Lucille forever and fears being alone when the dreaded time comes. As someone who has always had just one cat at a time, I've often wondered if the heartbreak of losing a pet is any duller when you have another there for comfort.

Watching Anne and Henry's bond deepen with each turn of the page was such a heartwarming experience, especially since many people don't believe a feral cat can be domesticated. It became obvious that Henry had found his forever home when the opportunity arose for him to escape over the walled garden in Anne's yard, and he chose to stay. What a beautiful moment.

If you're anything like me and believe that cats are synonymous with home, this little book will touch your heart and warm your soul.

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Wednesday, July 8th for your chance to win a paperback copy of Home with Henry. (US entries only, please.)

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About the author: Anne Kaier's essays and poetry have been published in venues such as The Gettysburg Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Kenyon Review, Referential and Beauty is a Verb: An Anthology of Poetry, Poetics, and Disability which is on the American Library Association Notable Books list for 2012.

Holding a Ph.D. from Harvard University, she teaches creative writing and literature at Arcadia University and Rosemont College. She serves on the Fulbright Creative Writing Student Screening Committee. Anne lives in Center City, Philadelphia.

Anne's blog tour will continue through July 9. Look for her tomorrow at The Conscious Cat.