I spent quite a bit of this book in tears, and while so painful, it was wonderful. For anyone who has loved and lost a beloved pet and companion, this book is thoughtful, compassionate and empathetic,

It is clear the author is both articulate and caring- explaining the sometimes incomprehensible agony that that losses of your cats, dogs, rats, bunnies or horses.
For so many, the feelings of grief upon the loss of a pet are not acknowledged or considered as important than other losses when they can feel even greater. To have an intellectual place to go with those feelings is both reaffirming and comforting, and most importantly someplace safe.
Loved this book.

I requested an advanced copy of this book as I am the owner of two aging cats (along with a younger dog) and I thought I would find some insight into the grieving process and end of life.

I did glean some information from the Healing Rituals chapter and some of the stories were sad (kleenex was needed).I agree with rescuing a dog from a shelter or finding a dog that has ""failed" as a training dog.

I don't understand why the talk of being vegetarian/vegan has to come up at all when speaking of lost companions. Not many people have chickens, pigs, cows or wild salmon as companions. Yes, I understand that vegans are opposed to animal cruelty but if I wanted to read about veganism I would find a book on that topic. "Should We Eat Our Friends?" should not be a chapter in this book in my opinion. I also found it strange that he discussed euthanizing depressed children in Belgium. He then dismissed the first part of the chapter saying that this is not a topic we need to consider when it comes to our animals. Why include that at all?

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

If you want a book which looks at the loss of a pet from a completely scientific perspective, but you are not religious or spiritual, then this book is for you. I read this book, hoping it was similiar to other books I have read about loosing a loved one, but it fell completely short of giving you the comfort of your pets still being around, especially when you need that feeling the most. This author does not believe in an afterlife at all.

It is also from the perspective of someone who is more of a dog person than a cat person, and you get the feeling he feels like cats are inferior, private creatures who want to go die alone. But a few years ago, I spent a weekend with my best friend. When I came home on a Sunday, my favorite cat dragged himself into the kitchen, clearly dying. He had waited for me to say goodbye. And I do agree with this author, as much as it hurts, it is best to stay with your pet if they have to be euthanized. My cat died on the table at the veterinarian's office before they could put him out of his misery, and as awful as this memory is, I can only imagine what it would feel like for a beloved pet to die alone.

I remember twenty years ago, having to take a poetry class my first time in college. I got marked down on my score because the teacher did not agree animals could not feel emotion and I could not convince him otherwise. However, my philsophy teacher I had at the same time did. I am glad the book has mentioned this and I am glad it is not more widely recognized concept.

While I appreciate that the author talks about all animals, in general. I struggled to connect completely. As a lover of more common household pets, I found it difficult to stay engaged when topics about amphibians or fish came up This is my personal shortcoming but I suspect there are others, like myself, that are seeking out literature about humans dealing with the loss of a domesticated dog or cat.

I wanted to read this book - mainly to hear of others experiences with the loss of beloved pets and in reassure myself that my experiences were similar.
I am happy to say I was not only assured - I feel free to celebrate my feelings and my animals my way!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book broke me. I lost my golden retriever summer of 2018 and this book just reminded me of all the pain and then also why I felt so devestated when he passed. Dogs love unconditional and we love them as well.
Such a wonderful book that address the relationships that we as humans have with our furbabies

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.


I have always considered my dogs part of my family - more like my children. We all grieve in our own way and in our own time. I did feel there was some repetition and some choppy writing style.
All in all, it was an okay book to read.

I thought this would be a good choice for me to read, having just lost my beautiful 12 year old rescue golden retriever. However, I found this book neither enlightening nor comforting. Masson declares that he is opposed to telling children that their deceased pet will be seen again (what some of us refer to as the rainbow bridge) because “I cannot share this belief so it would be hypocrisy to talk of an afterlife,” and because children would accuse a parent of lying years later. Really? Anecdotes from his previous book (which I did read and enjoy), the story of Oscar the cat who was said to predict upcoming deaths in a nursing home, his own story (in his late 70’s married to a much younger woman, had a teenage son, and an older dog who might be dying--whose death is mentioned in a postscript), the ethics of eating meat, and information about deaths of wild animals seemed like irrelevant space fillers, and had me wondering why this book even needed to be written at all. Perhaps someone with experience in grief counseling would have been a better choice than this author to write about our beloved “lost companions.” Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this because my elderly rabbit is in his last stage of life and wanted to see if there was some good advice, about loss/grief and there was. There were no stories about house rabbits, which I denoted a star for but all the dog and cat stories were touching and emotional. I think this is a must read for anyone with a companion animal, no matter what species you have. I appreciate the sensitivity of the subject matter because some people have companion animals instead of children that are like children; that is how strong the bond is. I know I feel that way.

Some good advice and emotional stories. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

And honestly, I can say I am in the minority when I tell you that I did not really like this book. The cover is what drew me in the first place and then when I saw the title, I went ahead and requested it. It sounds like the makings of a great book. The first chapter was great because it was actually about what the title implies the book will be about...but the further I got, the less interested I became. I felt like this was a case of bait and switch because very little of the book seemed to be about the companion animals and the loss of them. The parts that WERE, I liked, but there was way too much of everything else...including animal activism, why you should become a vegan, the dog trade in other countries and more. THAT is not what I wanted to read about and if it were, I'm sure I would have been much more prepared for it. There was also way too much name throwing and mentioning his previous titles for my taste. That could just be me...

Losing a pet is one of life hard things---they are family members. If you've lost a pet hopefully this might help you accept and allow yourself to grieve. Stories are moving and thought provoking. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

You will need a tissue when you read this well researched book. I loved reading the stories of the pet owners and how they chose to remember their pets. It also gave me pause to think about my own beloved pets the living and the ones that have gone on to the Rainbow Bridge.. The book is an emotional roller coaster that I highly recommend any pet owner reading.

I love love love dog stories!! I want to start off by thanking the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a very well written book by a new author for me. The book had a very good storyline with a twist at the end. I enjoyed reading this and didn’t wanna put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone. This was a great book and a must read!!

This is well written. It presents some perspective on pets and death, I really mean well by saying this -- At times I just didn't see the point of the book. It doesn't tell people how get over pet death (maybe no book can), and didn't give me any new perspectives other than some others' views about the subject (which were sometimes interesting). At times it was sweet, and always thoughtful. I just didn't come away any different, and I guess I felt like that was supposed to be the point of it. So my reaction is probably my problem, and suspect others will find some value where I did not. I haven't read any of the author's other works which also might have better set my expectations.

As most animal lovers, I've been familiar with Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's writing but I don't think I had ever fully read any of his books until now. This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There is a fair amount of repetition and there's something choppy about the writing style. There are high points in the book (touching from fans about their own animals), but there are also moments that truly annoyed me. Masson doesn't seem to have much connection with cats. Having shared my life with both cats and dogs, I can honestly say that one can connect just as deeply with a cat as with a dog. He also makes negative comments about euthanasia, stating we can't know what the animal wants. I fear some will read this and hesitate from making the decision to end a loved animal's suffering. Later in the book, he seems less against euthanasia. He does make a point of noting the importance of the animals' people being near when the moment arrives. This is always to toughest moment, but I agree that it is our duty to make it as stress-free as possible for these animals we love and this means being present. I can't imagine choosing not to be there in that last moment. Euthanasia should never be an easy choice, but a thoughtful decision made with the animal's needs in mind. I am glad we have that option to end true suffering. I happen to live in an area where doctor-assisted suicide is legal in specified circumstances and I believe that in some situations, this is the kindest choice. Maybe I got a little hung up on the euthanasia debate since it appeared so early in the book, but in the end, I won't be recommending this one to my animal-loving friends.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lost Companions
Reflections on the Death of Pets

By: jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

A heartfelt exploration of human grief after the loss of a pet by the New York Times bestselling author of "Dogs Never Lie About Love."

This book was very well researched and written by the author, who has been around animals his entire life. He has always had a strong sense of love, empathy and respect for every single animal and their feelings from small ones such as little fish, rats, cats and dogs, to horses, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, to...well you get the picture, all animals. His strong emotional attachment and empathy for all animals helped him easily become a vegan as well.

The thing I really enjoyed about this book was that he included many different stories from people talking about their beloved pets that they had loved for years and had lost. They talked about personal stories of their time with their pet and how much their pet meant to them. They each discussed all the different ways they had each chosen to memorialize them to keepsake their memories. There were just so many heart-touching stories from so many people. Their pets were a big part of their family and meant so much to each of them. Pets made such an impact on their lives and he touched on the fact that all people grieve in their own way and need to take as much time as they need. There is no set amount of time for grief.

This book is very good. There were times I was reading that I was smiling warmly and other times I was in tears reading some of the stories about people and their beloved pets. Sometimes it reminded me of some of my own memories with my sweet pets as well. I highly recommend this book, it will tug at your heartstrings a bit but it is such a great read!

I want to thank #netgalley, the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and the author, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson for this temporary advance copy to read in exchange for my honest review. All opinions for this review are my own.
Pub Date 23 Jun 2020

This book provided little insight or new information on the passing of animal companions. The anecdotes
regarding the author's animals and various stories presented were fairly interesting. When he pontificated or presented general questions regarding mortality, He is a compassionate person who clearly felt the need to write about his own experiences, yet I felt there was little of interest that we have not heard or read before.