by Sy Montgomery, 2006
Very compassionate and animal-loving female author. “Compassion means “with suffering.” Went home to be with Dad when he was dying of cancer even though he had written her off when she married Howard Mansfield (Jewish). Then, her mother, who was really the culprit, got cancer too and again she went home and cared for her. I couldn’t have done that.
Mostly, it’s about the pig, Christopher Hogwood, they adopted as a runt that their friends who raise pigs couldn’t kill.
“Christopher’s success was fourteen years of comfort and joy, given and received. Christopher was a gift who kept on giving. For me, his greatest gift was simply his presence, the pure delight of his company. But he had given me so much more: He introduced me to my neighbors. He had helped me overcome my shyness with people. He had showed me how to play with children. He had even brought me a garden. And his success didn’t end with us. This huge, adored pig, who had given so many people delight, was proof that no matter what nature or history hands you, with love, anything is possible.”