Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. IV, No. 4) November 2012Recovering The Self is a quarterly journal which explores the themes of recovery and healing through the lenses of poetry, memoir, opinion, essays, fiction, humor, art, media reviews and psychoeducation. Contributors to RTS Journal come from around the globe to deliver unique perspectives you won't find anywhere else!The theme of Volume IV, Number 4 is 'Animals and Healing'. Inside, we explore physical, spiritual, and mental aspects of this and several other areas of concern including: Equine Assisted Therapies Animal Totems Encounters with wild animals Pets rescuing owners Benefits of animal companions for chronic illness Wisdom of nature Animal communication Stories of cats, dogs, rabbits, goats... ... and much more!This issue's contributors include: David J. Roberts, Eva Schlesinger, Sam Vaknin, Nora Trujillo, Candace Czernicki, Kimberly J. Brown, Valerie Benko, Bernie Siegel, Bonnie Spence, Soleil Sky Cosko, Trisha Faye Pamela J. Lee, Craig Kyzar, Telaina Eriksen, Natalie Jeanne Champagne, Ghenrietta Gordon, Ernest Dempsey, Joan Haywood Heleine, Sweta Srivastava Vikram, Patricia Wellingham-Jones and others.'I highly recommend a subscription to this journal, Recovering the Self, for professionals who are in the counseling profession or who deal with crisis situations. Readers involved with the healing process will also really enjoy this journal and feel inspired to continue on. The topics covered in the first journal alone, will motivate you to continue reading books on the subject matter presented. Guaranteed.' --Paige Lovitt for Reader Views
Healing Together: Kimberly and Lucy Memoir
Kimberly J. Brown
“Not the ones speaking the same language, but the ones sharing the same feeling understand each other.”
~ Rumi
We carry wounds.
We carry scar tissue.
We carry memories of trauma or fear, invisibly, on the inside.
Even those among us, who walk on four paws, carry their wordless memories. A fire forced the previous owners of “Nikki,” a rust/black Australian Cattle Dog mix who we renamed “Lucy”, to surrender her at the Humane Society. Did the fire force them to move to an apartment where they couldn’t keep her? Was she caught in the fire? We wouldn’t know; there was no additional information.
On August 1, 2007, I survived the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, MN. I fell 114 feet to what I thought would be my death. Instead, I walked away with treatable spine and neck injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. That day, 145 people were injured and 13 were killed. Since the collapse, Lucy has been my “second-best friend” – just behind Rachel, my partner of almost ten years. Together, with our bad memories, Lucy and I heal.
~ ~ ~
We adopted Lucy on a cold snowy Minnesota morning, the day after Valentine’s Day in 2004. I’ll never forget walking into the Humane Society’s dog room with all the long cages. Heartbreaking, all these dogs without homes! To know that so many four-legged souls waited for some kind person they’d never met to be their rescue. How many of them, if they could talk, would ask, “Is it my turn to survive?” But Rach and I told each other, “We’ll leave with a dog today.” Why a dog, why that day? I’m not sure what made us so determined.
Window shopping for a medium-sized doggie, the noise from all the barking bouncing off the hard walls nearly overwhelmed us. When we got to Lucy’s cage, her upper decibel barking made us pass her by. I said, “Wow, that’s loud. Too loud.” We agreed and moved on.
We looked at eve
