Separate Lifetimes

by Irving Townsend

Now in its third printing, this collection of essays about living with animals, and coping with their loss, is "a joy for any nature or animal lover." (Roger Caras, President, ASPCA).

Genres: Nonfiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1986

Reviews

[Christi Poulsom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am read this book slowly, not because it is hard to read but because I want to savour it. The essays are moving and full of love. I got it shipped over from America, and would have paid twice as much again just for the Once Again Prince. If you love animals and have a shred of humanity buried deep within your soul you will love this book. You can now buy the book from 'Books for Animal Lovers';, but you will need to buy your box of tissues elsewhere.

[Pat Padden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book of essays about the special places that our animal companions fill in our lives - so wonderful that Kinky Friedman took a portion of the book's final piece and used it to eulogize his cat Cuddles in his own book, "Elvis, Jesus, and Coca Cola". Cuddles had been a character in Friedman's sardonic, streetwise NYC mysteries for many years, and the excerpt from Irving Townsend's moving tribute to his own much-loved and lamented horse Prince served as an equally touching send-off for the Kinkster's cat. Do yourself a favor - Read Irving Townsend's "Separate Lifetimes". Then read a few of Kinky Friedman's savvy Greenwich Village-based who-dunnits. Bet you'll like 'em both!

[TurtleneckGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of essays on loving and living with animals. Mr. Townsend, who died almost thirty years ago, may be most readily recognized in the following quote, found in his essay, "The Once Again Prince."
"We who choose to surround ourselves
with lives even more temporary than our
own, live within a fragile circle,
easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps,
we would still live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only
certain immortality, never fully
understanding the necessary plan."
— Irving Townsend

[George Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of short stories written by the man who produced one of the best selling jazz albums of all time. My favorite is "The Once-Again Prince", a story about an old horse. In it, he writes what I believe to be the most accurate and poignant statement about our relationship to animals and pets in particular:

“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accepts its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan.”

[Denis Simard]

This collection ends with what is, perhaps, the most poignant and understanding expression of those of us who live within the "fragile circle" of "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own." Given to me years ago, by a veterinarian who broke down in tears at the passing of my dog at the time. Re-read this collection many many times over the years, and will continue to do so, especially when the inevitable comes to pass.

[Rosemary Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, sensitively written, mostly about the animals he has shared his life with, both domestic and wild animals.