Birds of a feather : a true story of hope and the healing power of animals / Lorin Lindner ; with Elizabeth Butler-Witter.
Material type:![Text](/opac-tmpl/lib/famfamfam/BK.png)
- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781250132635
- 1250132630
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
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Main Library | NonFiction | 616.8916 L747 | Available | 33111009196060 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"This true story will twist your heart like a sponge and renew your faith in the world." -- Lee Woodruff , co-author with Bob Woodruff of the New York Times bestseller In an Instant
"A heartwarming book." -- Vicki Myron, author of New York Times #1 Bestseller Dewey
Birds of a Feather is ultimately a love story between veterans and the birds they nurse back to health and between Dr. Lindner and her husband, a veteran with PTSD, who healed at Serenity Park. Full of remarkable people and colorful birds, this book reminds us that we all have the power to make a difference.
Animal lover though she was, Lorin Lindner was definitely not looking for a pet. Then came Sammy - a mischievous and extremely loud bright pink Moluccan cockatoo who had been abandoned. It was love at first sight. But Sammy needed a companion. Enter Mango, lover of humans ("Hewwo"), inveterate thief of precious objects. Realizing that there were many parrots in need of new homes, Dr. Lindner eventually founded a sanctuary for them.
Meanwhile, she began to meet homeless veterans on the streets of Los Angeles. Before long she was a full time advocate for these former service members, who were often suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Ultimately, Dr. Lindner created a program for them, too.
Eventually the two parts of her life came together when she founded Serenity Park, a unique sanctuary on the grounds of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare Center. She had noticed that the veterans she treated as a clinical psychologist and the parrots she had taken in as a rescuer quickly formed bonds. Men and women who had been silent in therapy would share their stories and their feelings more easily with animals.
A promise is made -- Penance for Melody -- Mango -- Houseless, not homeless -- New directions -- Finding sanctuary -- A sailor's story -- A sanctuary opens at the VA -- The parrot whisperer -- Finding forgiveness -- Being chosen -- A blessed baby -- Grand opening -- Building a flock -- Warriors and wolves.
The author traces her unlikely founding of Serenity Park, a sanctuary for rescued parrots and veterans with PTSD, describing how her observation of the deep bonds that birds are capable of forming gave her the idea to establish a beneficial therapy practice for traumatized veterans.