OOPS! This should have been put in with 5 stars, but I can't change the stars by re-editing.
I read this book over twenty years ago. I have reread many times since. The author, J. Allen Boone, shows through his courageous examples how to connect with other life forms. The joy he experiences is worth reading about and an uplifting experience. Every friend, who has borrowed the book, purchased their own and some to pass on to others.
I bought this book because I read that it was a favourite of Tom Dorrance, who is sort of considered to be the "father" or natural horsemanship.
The writing style is very "popular 1950s" and the humor can be a little hokey at times, but this makes it an easy read. However, the concepts put forth are anything but lightweight. The title of the book says it all, really, and at some level this book goes very deep with me. I also like the fact that the author never strays into cutsey-cuddly territory when talking about animals.
Since reading this book I have noticed a simple but profound change in the way I relate to animals. It happens that I have been in a position to come into contact with more wildlife than usual lately, and they seem to be picking up on something as they frequently seem rather tame and curious about me, rather than just running off. Am I having "conversations" with them? No. Am I trying to communicate my appreciation of their higher selves. Yes.
I'm not sure that the book has affected my relationships with my pets or my friends' pets as much. Probably because habits I have already developed get in the way a little. When I meet an animal for the first time, though, I really notice a change.
This book is small and inexpensive, and second hand copies abound. If you have any inclination to improve the quality of your relationships with animals, and indeed with people, you've little to lose by reading this.
Maybe Change How You Relate to "Animals"
Do you think animals are simply dumb beasts who are less valuable than humans? This book will change your attitude, if you'll only read it with an open mind. These are true stories describing how the author related to animals, and then realized their true personalities. They are our partners, not our lessers.
The MOST important books for children + their adults
Kinship with all Life is especially important because it is a true story, and because the writer was the grandson, great-grandson, or great-great grandson of Daniel Boone, the famous wilderness guide (which has been left off of the newer books, but was in the older book I had). All parents -- and all children should have this book. It helps us to open our eyes and ears to the consciousness within all life that is communicating with us, if we can but "open" to the possibilities. If we reject it, it won't happen. It changed his life -- and when I read these stories, it changed mine as well. As souls, we have lost the connection that native peoples all over the earth still have. This validates their teachings that you can communicate with all of life, that The Great Spirit is inside everything and everyone, and that's why it's possible. The truth that was written is simple and communicates to the heart and soul of us all, if we don't let our human mind get in the way and stop our soul from being touched and awakened to the life within us and around us.
