Have you found yourself learning life lessons from others and wondering what you would have done if they had not been a part of your life? I think we all have those individuals that we can look at and say that because we knew them our lives are different. The same can be said about the lessons we get from animals. I know in my life my cats especially have been great examples of things I want to instill in my own life. In CHARLIE: A Love Story psychotherapist Barbara Lampert lets us into her personal journal and experiences by telling us about a dog that was so much more and who gave her much more than companionship. In many ways he gave her an enhanced appreciation for life.
We get to see that life for Charlie was difficult. Due to health issues he wasn’t at his best, but Barbara reveals that this was not something he was going to let stop him. As Barbara says: “Charlie’s story is far more than a depiction of his struggles against illness. Those years revealed the depth of his character, the wisdom he had gathered over his lifetime. And those years contained some of Charlie and Barbara’s most memorable times together, the culmination of their connection.”
Even when things seemed to be at their worst, Charlie would surprise her and others by his tenacity and desire to live each and every day. “Dear Charlie, what do you want,” Barbara writes. “Oh, I know. You want to live forever…Oh how I wish you could. I wish you didn’t have to have so many things wrong with you. Your will will—your will is the strongest, by far, of any part of you. So determined.”
What Barbara Lampert has captured in CHARLIE: A Love Story is the true testament of friendship and resilience. It’s something we can learn from to help us with our own relationships, but more importantly it is something we can use to motivate ourselves. Barbara was able to live with a open heart, and this allowed her to receive the lessons that Charlie and animals in her life taught. That is the commission for all of us: to make sure that we are living in such a way that we are forever learning, loving and imparting something special for the world.
No matter how things might seem for us, this book will inspire you to keep moving forward, making the most of each and every day. We just have to make the decision to do so.
For more information about Barbara and her award-winning book visit www.charliealovestory.com.