december, 2018
Event Details
The Hickory Stick Bookshop will host a discussion and signing with author Elena Mannes to celebrate the release of her new book, Soul Dog: A Journey into the Spiritual Life of Animals (Bear & Co., $16), on Sunday, December 30th at 2pm.
Looking for companionship after a near-fatal car crash, Elena Mannes, an award-winning television journalist and producer, decided to get her first dog. But what she found with her dog Brio shook the foundations of her physical and spiritual worlds, sending her on a quest to discover the nature of his spiritual origins and to contemplate and seek out the possibility of interspecies communication – even after death.
Soon after bringing her puppy home, Mannes realized that the master-companion relationship would not be possible with Brio, who quickly showed that he had a mind – and a spirit – of his own. A healer Mannes visited immediately focused on Brio, exclaiming that he was an old soul. Mannes’ growing curiosity about the intelligence, emotions, and consciousness of Brio and other dogs led her to contact an animal psychic in California who described, with amazing accuracy, Brio’s favorite walks and the author’s apartment from the dog’s point of view. Motivated by her experience, Mannes produced a filmed segment with Diane Sawyer featuring the same psychic, who described Sawyer’s country house and her dog’s favorite spots in the yard. Mannes’s skeptical journalist background compelled her to investigate further. She delved into the world of animal communicators, psychics, and scientists studying animal intelligence, including Rupert Sheldrake, to find answers to her multiplying questions: Do animals have thoughts and feelings? Consciousness? Souls? Is interspecies communication possible? Can animals reincarnate?
Spanning the entire life and afterlife of Brio, including his last days and his messages to the author after he passed on, this book also explores Mannes’ investigations into the spiritual life of all creatures. Offering a new understanding of the unbreakable bond between humans and our fellow beings, Mannes invites readers to move beyond the owner-pet relationship and come to see animals as thinking, feeling, spiritual beings whose connections with us extend far beyond life and death.
“This is a must-read, a spiritual journey into the life of the soul dog. This wonderful book teaches about the unconditional love and unbreakable bonds that exist between humans and animals.” –Bash Dibra, internationally acclaimed dog trainer and co-author of Dog Training by Bash, DogSpeak, Catspeak, and StarPet
“My former colleague Elena Mannes has always been on a quest to discover more about the animals she loves. Soul Dog takes her beyond science into mystical paths – the yearning for consolation and possibility. She writes that animals teach us to listen. Elena is their friend, ready to hear.” –Diane Sawyer, American television journalist
“Enlightening! An important read for people who want to connect with their dog’s soul after death.” –Jennifer Skiff, bestselling author of The Divinity of Dogs
Elena Mannes is an award-winning independent documentary director/writer/producer whose honors include six Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, two Director’s Guild of America Awards, and nine Cine Golden Eagle Awards. She has written, directed, and produced series and documentaries for CBS, PBS, ABC, and the Discovery Channel, including “The Amazing Animal Mind” and the PBS primetime special The Music Instinct, which led to the writing of her book The Power of Music. She lives in New York City.
This event is free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve a signed copy of Soul Dog by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525. For further information about this event please visit www.hickorystickbookshop.com or email [email protected]
