Traces the story of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit animal rescue the Gentle Barn that has saved hundreds of creatures from unsafe conditions, describing how the author and shelter volunteers rehabilitate their charges to become companions for at-risk children.
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I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Review also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.
I'm not even sure what I was expecting when I started reading this book - I guess I thought it would be something that only farm animal lovers would identify with... just a Yay Animals!! happy story about saving the world.
But in these pages is one of the most inspiring and beautiful stories that I have ever read. There is story after story of individual animals - their situation and their healing - and of individual children that the animals in turn come to heal. This is a vivid story of how Ellie Lake's life came full circle - she had a lonely childhood, she had a dream to save the animals who had saved her as a child, she chased her dream, and she found herself along the way. I found myself in tears many many times.
But the most remarkable change took place inside of me... I was not alone after all; I was just a tiny current in the large, gorgeous flow of life.
It's memoirs like these that keep me coming back for more and usually get me on a memoir train for a few months. There is so much emotion and so much honesty in this story of The Gentle Barn.. it's overwhelming at times... but in such a good way - my soul feels cleansed. And I believe there is hope for humanity after all.
When I finished reading, I immediately found The Gentle Barn's website and read more about Jay and Ellie and what they are doing now... I guess you could say I'm an instafan. I'm definitely going to visit one day.
My husband and I have a dream to build a successful farm and produce meat in harmony... to be a small part of taking back the food industry from factory farms and to take care of the animals who in turn take care of us... so I think I could be possibly biased about this book. However, I don't think you have to be an animal activist/hippy farmer to enjoy this story about a life that comes full circle and enriches other lives in return.
