Anna David

Falling For Me is one of those books that get you excited about really looking at your life and asking yourself, "Is my life the way I expected it to be? Am I really happy or have I just resigned to the way the chips have fallen into place?" And then there's probably the most terrifying question: "Am I ever going to find my one true love or is it time to put romantic ideals aside and face up to hard facts, like the ticking of a woman's biological clock and how to find a guy to settle down with and have a family. To answer these questions for herself, Anna David takes a daring path in following the guidelines of Helen Gurley's 60s bestseller "Sex and The Single Girl." What she finds is that maybe the women of today need to look at the past to define their present and to figure out the slippery balance between independence, career, love and family. I very much appreciated Anna's insights, humor, and honesty, and above all, her journey inspired me to evaluate my life as it is and embark on my own adventure of self-discovery.… (mais)

The tale of two kitties (and a journey of recovery)

As a cat-lover, a volunteer photographer at a cat rescue, and a self-confessed cat-lady (with two cats AND a dog, is a neat-freak, has a partner and a child), I felt I just HAD to read this Kindle Single.
This short biographical tale follows Anna from her beginnings with her abusive father (which she convinced herself were normal), through her tumultuous and confusing years of young adulthood as a semi-functioning addict, and on to her new sober life with the two cats that went through some of the worst of it with her.
I know really well that my pets have been through all kinds of ups and down with me and I could NOT have done it without them. From a personal standpoint, I kept hoping Anna would be more emotional and talk more about this, but I know that this point comes across to the reader. There's also a look at how the author's behavior affected the cats, and how they reflected the stressors in her life. Addiction and mental illness don't allow many people to see how their behavior affects people around them, never mind their pets. But then Anna's cats eventually act as anchors and help see her through to a place of stability and she realizes that their unconditional love and presence has meant more than she'd cared to notice before.
There's a lot in this that is familiar to me, both in perspective and story, but there aren't enough pages to deal with all the topics in depth. I was just thrilled to see the personal journey that Anna went on, and that she found sobriety, self-acceptance, a little bit of 'happy', and that Toby and Lilly were there through it all.
PS. Cats rule.… (mais)