CAT THERAPY

​Author: Gail Gilbride
Publisher: Self published
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
If you are a cat – lover than you’ll know there’s something so very comforting about the ‘plop’ of a warm, furry body snuggling next to you when you’re feeling low, sick or simply tired. It’s as if there is an unspoken agreement that there’s healing in that snuggle as loud purrs ripple across the bedclothes. You reach out an arm to stroke the warm, curled body and suddenly a glimmer of light flickers at the end of the 

tunnel. And when that tunnel is through cancer - that comfort is even more intense.
Gail Gilbride’s unplanned memoir, ‘Cat Therapy” is a tender, honest diary of her journey through ‘Cancer in the time of Corona’ accompanied by her semi – feral cat Archie. Providing that reassuring, regular plop he also gives some meaningful life lessons. Catnapping with her is a welcome diversion from debilitating treatment. Providing meaning to some very inward thinking plus a window on the world beyond is also part of his portfolio!
Having to endure two life - threatening diseases Covid and Cancer = at once was certainly not on the cards and Gail faces them both head on – with fortitude, humour and a light touch that belies the angst that was rippling beneath the surface. Here is a woman for whom life still offers so many possibilities, who is determined to beat this thing with both conventional and alternative treatments. Who is not giving up. A story that will resonate with not just cancer survivors but the larger community as well. Because we were all scared during Corona, we all realized that mortality was finite and locked down as we were, sometimes were quite alone – except for the consistency of our furry pets, by our side through it all.
As Gail writes of her treatments, her love of dancing, her meditation and hypnosis sessions, diving into art, losing her hair, gaining a pixie cut and dreaming of that hot pink bikini she WILL wear to the beach, we are drawn into her world.
She recognizes early on that ‘In order to heal myself, I need to explore not only the outward symptoms, but also the inner workings of who I am and what makes me tick. There are so many ways of exploring this. I plan to become a master.’
And with those words she takes these intruders on! The energy sapping ‘Red Devil treatment comes under fire and Archie teaches her coping methods along the way. It’s warmly written with an easy familiarity as she uncovers, questions and faces those self – doubts that have become beliefs. We may well do the same ourselves on an introspective day. Her positive approach, her effervescence, her down days, her observations and determination are wake-up calls for us all. And all along this path Archie appears – either stalking, curling up, standing in the doorway crying: ‘you owe me a milky tea Ma’, or simply consistently being there. Liz Hardwicke’s quirky sketches add a light and meaningful touch.
It’s a good read, a rich look at a woman who is fighting for her life, acknowledging her strengths and the control that she can take. Uplifting in the life lessons we can all learn. It’s brave but self-effacing, not dwelling too much on the tough times, but not side stepping them. A cancer diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence – it’s a detour - one that can bring us face to face with ourselves. But it’s the moments by moments that count. The small promises, the achievements, the tiny steps taken on a road that can lead to recovery. And how life can change in an instant. ​