Cathryn Michon - I'M STILL HERE: A Dog's Purpose Forever
Joining me for this episode is best-selling author, comic, actress, producer, director, screenwriter and animal advocate Cathryn Michon. Cathryn and I have a wonderful and heartfelt chat about her latest book (co-written with her dog Tucker), I’M STILL HERE: A Dog’s Purpose forever. The story is told by an angel dog who is both here watching and loving you, and there with all the people and animals you have loved. We also discuss how lessons and skills learned from her screenwriting (co-screenwriter with her husband W. Bruce Cameron – A Dog’s Purpose) helped her when writing this book. Have a listen and open your heart to all the wonderful stories and lessons from our dogs (and all animals) who are part of our lives here and there. Enjoy!
Listen to Episode #213 Now:
BIO:
Cathryn Michon is an award-winning comic, actress, improvisor, screenwriter and book author who got her start in the touring company of Chicago's famed The Second City. She has been a writer for Emmy Award winning TV series like China Beach andDesigning Women and is, with her writing partner W. Bruce Cameron, a screenwriter of the upcoming Dreamworks film, A Dog's Purpose, and the Temple Hill/Fox 2000 film The Dogs of Christmas. As a stand-up comic, she has appeared in clubs and in major festivals like The Montreal Comedy Festival and The Toyota Comedy Festival and was a regular guest on NBC's The Today Show.She was the host for three seasons of AMC's cult hit Grrl Genius at the Movies, where she showed some of the greatest chick flicks of all time. She co-wrote, produced and starred in the feature film Cook Off! (which was adapted from her book The Grrl Genius Guide to Life) with Melissa McCarthy (Oscar nominee Bridesmaids) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911, Bridesmaids) which won a jury award at the HBO Aspen Comedy Film Festival. She also is Co-Writer/Director of the upcoming film Muffin Top: A Love Story, adapted from her novel The Grrl Genius Guide to Sex (With Other People). She Co-wrote/directed and produced the film, which she stars in with Melissa Peterman (Fargo) Marissa Jaret Winokur (Tony Winner, Hairspray) Haylie Duff (Napoleon Dynamite) David Arquette (Scream) Retta (Parks and Recreation) Maria Bamford (Arrested Development) and many more comedy all-stars.
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Tim Link: Welcome to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
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Tim Link: This is your host, Tim Link, and I'm so excited you're joining me today.
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Tim Link: I got a really special guest and a furry guest on the line as well.
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Tim Link: We're gonna be talking to author Cathryn Michon about her latest book, I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever.
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Tim Link: And of course, I think Tucker will chime in as well.
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Tim Link: So we're gonna talk to Cathryn a little bit about the book.
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Tim Link: We're gonna talk to her about some special projects and initiatives she's got going on.
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Tim Link: And then of course, we won't let her off the hook without talking to her about writing in general and how she's such a master and wizard at the craft.
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Tim Link: So it's a fun, fun show.
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Tim Link: So everybody hang tight.
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Announcer: Welcome back to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
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Tim Link: Joining me now is best-selling author, stand-up comic, actress, feature film director, screenwriter, producer, animal advocate, and I hear she makes a mean chocolate chip cookie.
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Tim Link: So we're talking about Cathryn Michon.
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Tim Link: Cathryn, welcome back to the show.
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Cathryn Michon: Oh, thank you.
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Cathryn Michon: I just thought that when you list my resume, it sounds like I can't keep a job.
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Tim Link: Oh my God.
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Tim Link: Well, it is quite impressive.
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Tim Link: That is for sure.
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Tim Link: And you're quite impressive as well.
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Tim Link: And I'm super excited about the latest book, which is I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever.
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Cathryn Michon: Yeah.
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Tim Link: Tell us a little bit about the book in general and how it all came about.
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Cathryn Michon: Well, it's interesting.
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Cathryn Michon: My husband, W.
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Cathryn Michon: Bruce Cameron, who wrote the now legendary novel, A Dog's Purpose, which we went on to turn into a movie that we were both the screenwriters on that film and two other films of his books.
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Cathryn Michon: From the very beginning in 2010, the A Dog's Purpose philosophy is that dogs have immortal souls just as we do and that we meet again.
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Cathryn Michon: And a lot of people, millions of people, have found A Dog's Purpose to be comforting because of that.
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Cathryn Michon: But we always realize that A Dog's Purpose, the novel, is not maybe the book you hand someone when they've just come back from guiding their best friend over the rainbow bridge.
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Cathryn Michon: And Bruce had asked me to think about writing a book that would be a companion gift book to the original A Dog's Purpose that would be an art-filled sort of a free verse poem from the point of view of an angel dog who wants you to know that they are still here, but they are also there over the rainbow bridge with all the people and animal souls that you have loved.
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Cathryn Michon: And that this relationship that we have with them is a forever relationship.
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Cathryn Michon: And that this book would celebrate that, and that this would be a book that, you know, you could remember your angel dog lovingly, joyfully, and perhaps it would allow you to open your heart to another dog.
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Tim Link: And that's how all this sort of got started, isn't it, in the first place?
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Cathryn Michon: Yeah, he asked me to do it.
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Cathryn Michon: He said, I don't think this is the kind of book I write.
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Cathryn Michon: I think this is the kind of book you write, because really in some ways it's like our movies, because it's really just the dog talking to you.
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Cathryn Michon: There's no other people talking.
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Cathryn Michon: There's no narrative prose.
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Cathryn Michon: You know, it really is just the dog telling you what it's like to be an angel dog.
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Cathryn Michon: And then he just, you know, I think of him as a he, because my own dog, Tucker, became the model for the angel dog for all of the paintings that are in the book.
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Cathryn Michon: It's a beautiful, art-filled book of watercolor paintings of all kinds of dogs, but the narrating dog is in there quite a bit.
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Cathryn Michon: And so since it started in COVID, and I didn't really have access to any other dog, it became that Tucker became the model for that angel dog.
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Cathryn Michon: And obviously, I kind of also refer to him as my co-author because he just sat at my feet while I was writing it, and the dog has a lot of things to tell you.
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Cathryn Michon: And some of it, he very much wants you to know how important chicken is.
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Cathryn Michon: Chicken is a high priority for this angel dog.
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Cathryn Michon: And then there's a whole section in the book where he talks about tricks that people make dogs do that are kind of ridiculous, but dogs will do them because they love people, like sit, which is stupid in his opinion, and stay, which is even worse.
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Cathryn Michon: If you think sit is bad, wait here, stay.
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Cathryn Michon: He's just guiding you through his doggy nature.
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Cathryn Michon: But he also has some very profound things to say.
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Tim Link: Yeah.
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Tim Link: You know, I thought that was fascinating.
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Tim Link: Well, first of all, we all know Tucker's a superstar, you know, international film star.
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Cathryn Michon: He is, he's running a broad pair of dogs.
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Tim Link: He is, he's handsome as the Dickens, that is for sure.
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Tim Link: So we know that, we know that, again.
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Tim Link: And I love the fact that he was there the whole time you're writing the book.
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Tim Link: So he was your muse, he was there to correct you if you got the chicken part wrong, all these wonderful things.
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Tim Link: So I love how you incorporated him as your co-author in the book, because I do believe, I firmly believe that they're master teachers.
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Tim Link: They're there for us in so many different ways.
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Tim Link: One of them is to make sure we're doing things the right way and helping us along and pushing us forward and to be our best self and to fulfill our best purpose as well.
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Cathryn Michon: I think they're spiritual teachers if you let them be.
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Cathryn Michon: I think they tilt always towards joy and they want you to tilt towards joy.
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Cathryn Michon: And in the book, the dog also says that he knows that dogs don't live as long as people.
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Cathryn Michon: And I think dogs do know that.
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Cathryn Michon: And that in his mind, it's purposeful because dogs go first and we show you that it's no big deal and that it's just a passage into another phase.
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Cathryn Michon: And also when we cross over the rainbow bridge, that means they can be there to greet us.
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Cathryn Michon: And I think there's wisdom in that.
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Cathryn Michon: I personally believe that that is true.
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Cathryn Michon: And then if you talk to people who work in hospice, for example, they will tell you that over and over again, at the end of someone's life, they will see people and animals that they love, almost at the end of the bed, guiding them forward.
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Cathryn Michon: And I think that's real.
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Cathryn Michon: And the book thinks that's real.
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Cathryn Michon: That's the book, you know?
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Tim Link: Well, I think you're spot on.
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Tim Link: I mean, it resonates with me.
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Tim Link: You know, obviously, one of the things that I do is I work with people that have had animals that are making their transition, then dealing with the grieving process after they have made their transition.
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Tim Link: And I've always proclaimed that when we make that transition and when our animals make that transition, they're surrounded by pure love and they're surrounded by those souls, those entities, those energies, however we want to label it, that are familiar to them, that they knew in their human or in their animal, their furry form, but also those that had the heart connection with you, their human companion.
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Tim Link: It's very comforting.
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Tim Link: So I love that part of it.
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Tim Link: And I also love the aspect that it resonated with me is the fact that they are really furry angels at this point.
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Tim Link: So they're not tethered to that body.
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Tim Link: They can come back and help us, help us through the healing process, guide us, be our guiding light forward, answer questions for us.
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Tim Link: But on the other hand, they're free and untethered to go back into that heavenly space of love, that rainbow bridge, to be around familiar energies of love on that side.
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Tim Link: So it's actually quite comforting, as you said, and a very brilliant thing that they're able to do.
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Cathryn Michon: Aw, I love that it resonated with you.
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Cathryn Michon: I think anybody that knows your Dog's Purpose brand will expect that I'm still here.
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Cathryn Michon: A Dog's Purpose forever is sort of carrying that message forward, do you know?
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Cathryn Michon: And I think that people need that reminder that their soul is eternal, that their dog's soul is eternal.
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Cathryn Michon: And also, there's really no other book out there that allows you to celebrate that relationship, to memorialize that relationship.
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Cathryn Michon: So we designed the book specifically so that when it's a hardcover book, it's beautiful, it's printed on watercolor paper, which is amazing because the book is full of watercolor paintings.
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Cathryn Michon: But the first thing you see on the front leaf is this beautiful watercolor painting of paw prints and footprints in the sand.
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Cathryn Michon: And so we designed it that way so that that's a place where you can mount a photo of a dog that you want to dedicate the book to.
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Cathryn Michon: So that was specifically an intention that I had that came from people, from talking to fans.
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Cathryn Michon: Fans were like, I want to be able to put my dog's picture in the book, I want to customize it, I want to make it truly be my book, you know?
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Tim Link: Yeah, absolutely.
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Tim Link: I think you hit it on the head.
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Tim Link: I'm stumbling because I'm thinking of all these great things that I love about the book, the watercolor you mentioned, because it's comforting to me.
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Tim Link: When I look through the book and look through the watercolors, you're presenting this to someone or you're purchasing the book for yourself, however it is, to remember your animal, to go through the healing process, to go back through on those times that you're feeling down, you can go through the story and feel comforted there.
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Tim Link: And the watercolor pages and the illustrations just make that comfort flow.
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Cathryn Michon: Oh, they're happy to hear, yeah.
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Tim Link: So I love that part of it.
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Tim Link: And I also loved how you wrote it.
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Tim Link: We're not talking about it, it's not sentences, it's not like a photo picture and here's some sentences.
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Tim Link: It's almost poetic, we're hearing the dog's voice.
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Cathryn Michon: Thank you, I meant for it to be basically free verse poetry which is a hard thing to define except that it's almost like a soliloquy.
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Cathryn Michon: It's almost like this dog sort of taking you through his universe view of the nature of life and eternal life and love and what it's all about and purpose.
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Cathryn Michon: Big themes for a little dog, you know, I mean, but that's always been the a dog's purpose thing.
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Cathryn Michon: You know, if you go back to our films, the first film ends with the dog in the voice of Josh Gad, you know, saying, be here now, don't sweat the little things, you know, just don't get all sad and scrunchy faced.
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Cathryn Michon: I think that's the line we wrote.
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Cathryn Michon: The dog is telling you real wisdom that will improve your life.
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Tim Link: Yeah, absolutely.
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Tim Link: Well, that W.
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Tim Link: Bruce Cameron, he is a smart cookie.
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Tim Link: I will say, I won't say it when he's in the air with me, but I'll tell you right now, he's a smart cookie.
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Cathryn Michon: Brilliant.
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Tim Link: Yeah, he is brilliant.
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Tim Link: So I just, I love what you guys have done with this whole, the whole series.
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Tim Link: And, you know, oftentimes, I know you're a brilliant marketer.
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Tim Link: I do know that for sure.
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Tim Link: And it does make sense a lot of times when you're, I've talked to other authors and they have a book and then they do several companions because that's what their editors are demanding.
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Tim Link: And maybe they come up with some items, some tchotchke, things like that.
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Tim Link: That's perfectly fine.
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Tim Link: That's great.
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Tim Link: But the one thing I love that you guys do throughout from originally from the Dog's Purpose and Bruce's series of books, and then this wonderful companion book that adds to it, they're not just add on items.
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Tim Link: They are a constant reminder of this.
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Tim Link: You know, I referenced back to the books, the films, and now your book, I'm Still Here, is the fact that it just is a constant reminder of the purpose of the dog, you know, and purpose of animals in general all the way through to when they make their transition, then coming back.
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Tim Link: I just think you guys have done a fantastic job with that, and I know you're the key marketer behind all this.
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Cathryn Michon: Well, I mean, the thing is that I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever.
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Cathryn Michon: The title is very purposeful to make upon almost, because it really is about what is that eternal nature of that relationship.
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Cathryn Michon: And I believe that these creatures, dogs, see themselves as our helpers, our guides, our teachers.
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Cathryn Michon: And we really, the reason Bruce asked me to write the book, he really wanted to explore that more, but in the real life way of what happens when you lose a dog.
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Cathryn Michon: Like, what was the purpose of that?
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Cathryn Michon: And I think there is a purpose.
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Cathryn Michon: I think that it teaches us that life as we know it is finite and that you have to seize the moment.
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Cathryn Michon: You have to be here now.
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Cathryn Michon: And that that's yet another thing that these creatures that we do not deserve teach us.
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Cathryn Michon: That it is absolutely purposeful that they go first and that we should thank them for that.
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Cathryn Michon: And that a book like this, that's like a keepsake, that's like a talisman.
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Cathryn Michon: I did another podcast.
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Cathryn Michon: I said, no one will insult me if they call this a bathroom book.
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Cathryn Michon: I would love it if this sat on a little table in your bathroom and just in that few moments, you page through it and remember what they're trying to teach us.
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Cathryn Michon: They're trying to teach us to be here now, to tilt towards joy, tilt towards love.
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Cathryn Michon: I think that's their message.
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Tim Link: Well, I think the bathroom is our ideal spot for reflection and time to ourselves.
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Tim Link: So I think-
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Cathryn Michon: Whatever that amount of time is, that three, four minutes, whatever it is, let you refocus your consciousness, your soul, your intention for the day.
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Cathryn Michon: I would be thrilled if this book, the bathroom book of the year.
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Cathryn Michon: I want people to get back in touch with what their teachers, their dogs are trying to teach you.
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Tim Link: Yeah, and in the moment, I love how you position that too.
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Tim Link: I'm always talking to people about, taking your dog for a walk is fantastic, but put the phone down.
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Tim Link: It's not texting time.
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Tim Link: It's time to smell the flowers like he does and hike, maybe not hike the leg, but see what they're seeing, feel what they're feeling, feel in the energy room.
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Cathryn Michon: The fact that we have to take them for a walk, most people do.
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Cathryn Michon: I mean, there's so many statistics that show that people that have dogs live longer.
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Cathryn Michon: They live longer.
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Cathryn Michon: What are the reasons?
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Cathryn Michon: Well, a very simple one is just taking your steps.
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Cathryn Michon: And another one is that they can lift you out of depression, lift you out of self-reflection.
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Cathryn Michon: They are amazing at that.
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Cathryn Michon: They're like therapists that you pay in chicken.
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Tim Link: Exactly right.
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Tim Link: And they are, they teach you how to live in that moment because that's where they live as well.
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Tim Link: And I tell people, you know, my clients all the time, pay attention to that.
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Tim Link: Be in that moment with them because you're gonna have a great deal of reflection.
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Tim Link: You're gonna have great insight.
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Tim Link: It's that time where your conscious mind perhaps shuts down and your subconscious opens up.
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Tim Link: That allows everything to flow through quickly.
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Tim Link: And don't wait until your animal has made their transition to reflect back on what's going on.
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Cathryn Michon: It's a today thing.
00:16:19.280 --> 00:16:21.560
Cathryn Michon: And I'm one of those trippy people, okay?
00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:23.420
Cathryn Michon: I do believe in angels.
00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.580
Cathryn Michon: I do believe in human angels.
00:16:25.760 --> 00:16:30.760
Cathryn Michon: I believe that my dad is a very annoying angel, but I love him.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:39.400
Cathryn Michon: And he visits and in the book, the dog talks about one way that angels can visit is things with wings.
00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:51.400
Cathryn Michon: But if a thing with wings, a dragonfly or a hummingbird, something keeps showing up, that might be someone you love coming to say hello.
00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:59.120
Cathryn Michon: And my dad is a very annoying dragonfly who will live in the house for days on end and drive us crazy.
00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:08.680
Cathryn Michon: But we actually had an angel encounter that Bruce and I believe was real right around the time that we published the original A Dog's Purpose.
00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:16.520
Cathryn Michon: He wrote that book because I had a dog named Ellie who died young before I met Bruce, just before I met Bruce.
00:17:17.060 --> 00:17:21.440
Cathryn Michon: And when we were starting to get serious, I said, I will never have another dog.
00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:24.220
Cathryn Michon: And that would not work for W.
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:24.820
Cathryn Michon: Bruce Cameron.
00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:39.620
Cathryn Michon: And he's a natural storyteller and he just literally on a car ride came up on the spot with the story of A Dog's Purpose, told it to me on the car ride for like an hour and a half driving up the 101 in California.
00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:44.560
Cathryn Michon: And everything that's in the book and the movie was in that car ride.
00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:50.480
Cathryn Michon: And I finished listening and I was crying and I said, well, you're going to have to, that's going to be a classic book.
00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:51.460
Cathryn Michon: You have to write that book.
00:17:51.560 --> 00:17:52.640
Cathryn Michon: And I see your point.
00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:59.360
Cathryn Michon: I see that the love that I had from my dog could be available to me from another dog and I should let that in.
00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:00.120
Cathryn Michon: I love it.
00:18:00.140 --> 00:18:20.560
Cathryn Michon: Now, anyway, around the time that we published that book, we were sitting at the dining room table and my dog, Ellie, the dog who'd passed, I had her collar on a bookshelf near the dining room table and Bruce said, you know, I wonder if Ellie is still around and what she thinks of us having gotten Tucker and how well that would be.
00:18:20.580 --> 00:18:28.320
Cathryn Michon: And literally the moment he finished saying it, her collar just flew off the shelves and landed on the floor.
00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:30.100
Cathryn Michon: And I do live in California.
00:18:30.120 --> 00:18:32.520
Cathryn Michon: We do have earthquakes, but we were not having an earthquake.
00:18:32.800 --> 00:18:38.080
Cathryn Michon: Like there was no earthly reason that I can think of why that would happen.
00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:40.480
Cathryn Michon: And then we both said, well, I guess she's good with it.
00:18:40.840 --> 00:18:42.140
Tim Link: That's it, that's it.
00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:43.480
Tim Link: Well, I absolutely believe in that.
00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:45.200
Tim Link: That is absolutely true.
00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:49.720
Tim Link: I can account so many stories that I've had and my clients have had as well.
00:18:49.820 --> 00:18:54.480
Tim Link: Real quick, when I remember we had a Pomeranian dog that we got in college.
00:18:54.500 --> 00:19:00.220
Tim Link: Well, I'll try to consolidate this, but basically my wife and I, we're high school sweethearts, so we grew up together.
00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.740
Tim Link: So we've been together quite some time.
00:19:02.760 --> 00:19:06.680
Tim Link: And in college, I lived in the dorms, I lived in the fraternity house.
00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.200
Tim Link: Then I finally got my first dumpy old apartment.
00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:14.520
Tim Link: And of course, you know, guys are always like 10 steps behind on the logic thing.
00:19:14.760 --> 00:19:15.920
Tim Link: She always wanted a dog.
00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:17.680
Tim Link: And I never thought about getting one in college.
00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:24.200
Tim Link: But a day after I got my dumpy little apartment, we encountered a Pomeranian, which she always wanted Pomeranians.
00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:29.440
Tim Link: The next day I know I don't have my dumpy apartment by myself, I've got me and the puppy Pomeranian.
00:19:29.520 --> 00:19:34.900
Tim Link: I realized, you know, about 10 days later that, oh, okay, it was the master plan of the future Mrs.
00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.760
Tim Link: that set this in the way.
00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:40.900
Tim Link: We're tricky people and we're always 10 steps behind us guys.
00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.300
Tim Link: So anyway, so she lived a very long life.
00:19:43.320 --> 00:19:51.820
Tim Link: And when she got to be about 12 years old, we decided to build a new house across town, brand new house, leveled the ground, you know, build it from scratch all the way up.
00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:56.860
Tim Link: And she always had this ability or her voice.
00:19:56.940 --> 00:20:02.700
Tim Link: Every time we would come home from work, she would bark one time and then we'd open the door and she'd be inside.
00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:04.960
Tim Link: So we built this brand new house.
00:20:05.520 --> 00:20:11.320
Tim Link: One of the first things we thought is we were pulling into the driveway, it hit us that, I wonder if we'll ever hear that bark again.
00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:14.200
Tim Link: Will it be attached to the previous house or-
00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:14.680
Cathryn Michon: Yeah, yeah.
00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:15.760
Tim Link: You know, these types of things.
00:20:16.020 --> 00:20:21.480
Tim Link: And literally before we could hit the remote control on the garage, one bark, and it was her bark.
00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:24.080
Tim Link: So she was letting you know, there's no time and distance.
00:20:24.100 --> 00:20:25.520
Tim Link: I'm not attached to a house.
00:20:25.540 --> 00:20:28.240
Tim Link: I'm always here and I'm always going to be here for you.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:33.160
Tim Link: So I love your story and that's sort of one that I've experienced over the years too.
00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:39.420
Tim Link: So I'm a big believer in that obviously, and I'm glad you recognize the angels all around you.
00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:47.360
Tim Link: Even my father, who was a real frugal gentleman, we'll put it kindly, couldn't spare a nickel unless you really begged him for it.
00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:52.020
Tim Link: After he made his transitions, I found every day I would find a nickel on the ground.
00:20:52.060 --> 00:20:55.040
Tim Link: Yeah, this went on for weeks and weeks.
00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:59.580
Tim Link: And finally, I smile and thought to myself, yeah, dad, that's you, you're leaving a nickel.
00:20:59.600 --> 00:21:01.220
Tim Link: Why don't you just leave a quarter or something?
00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:03.160
Tim Link: If you're bigger than nomination.
00:21:04.060 --> 00:21:05.000
Tim Link: Yeah, not his way.
00:21:05.040 --> 00:21:06.560
Tim Link: But guess what happened the very next day?
00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.540
Tim Link: A quarter appeared on the ground in front of me.
00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:11.820
Cathryn Michon: He's like, all right, I'll have the stakes.
00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:12.580
Tim Link: Yeah, this is it.
00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:13.580
Tim Link: I'm only gonna do it once.
00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:18.840
Tim Link: There was only one quarter, nothing else, but yeah, he got his point across for sure.
00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:19.520
Cathryn Michon: I love that.
00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:29.180
Cathryn Michon: Well, I mean, I think it's just really a beautiful thing that dogs, you know, people always say, God is dog spelled backwards.
00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:38.660
Cathryn Michon: And I think that's a trick of language, except, you know, for me spiritually, God should be a relatively simple concept.
00:21:39.020 --> 00:21:44.500
Cathryn Michon: God is love and dogs are love and they are relatively simple creatures.
00:21:44.520 --> 00:21:51.040
Cathryn Michon: I think we make spirituality complicated and we fight over it and we have wars over it.
00:21:51.080 --> 00:22:02.220
Cathryn Michon: And if there's any coincidence to the fact that dog is God spelled backwards, I think the message is get back to the simplicity of God, which is love, you know?
00:22:02.780 --> 00:22:05.300
Cathryn Michon: Just turn it into a holy war.
00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:08.580
Tim Link: I agree, I agree, big kudos on that.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:10.580
Tim Link: All right, we're gonna take a quick commercial break.
00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:17.480
Tim Link: Then we'll come back and continue our conversation with Cathryn Michon and talk to her a little bit more about her book, I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever.
00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:21.940
Tim Link: And we'll talk to her a little bit about the writing of this book, but also in general.
00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.500
Tim Link: I wanna pick her brain from one of the masters.
00:22:23.520 --> 00:22:26.960
Tim Link: So everybody hang tight, we'll come back right after this commercial break.
00:22:27.260 --> 00:22:30.100
Tim Link: You're listening to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
00:22:35.784 --> 00:22:41.984
Tim Link: Hi, this is Tim Link, animal communicator and pet expert, and host of Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
00:22:42.144 --> 00:22:44.744
Tim Link: Have you ever wanted to know what your pet is really thinking?
00:22:44.764 --> 00:22:51.644
Tim Link: Do you want to find out if they truly understand what you're trying to tell them, or wish you could build a better understanding and closer relationship with your pet?
00:22:51.744 --> 00:22:52.724
Tim Link: Well, now you can.
00:22:52.944 --> 00:22:56.544
Tim Link: Learning to communicate with animals is a four-part on-demand workshop.
00:22:56.664 --> 00:23:14.364
Tim Link: In the workshop, you'll learn the essential techniques that are necessary to communicate with animals, including what is animal communication, breathing correctly to achieve the perfect state to communicate with your animals at a deeper level, using guided meditation exercises and method to communicate with animals, and how to send and receive information from your animals.
00:23:14.584 --> 00:23:24.844
Tim Link: So if you're wanting to learn how to communicate and connect with your animals at a deeper level, visit petliferadio.com forward slash workshop and purchase and download Learning to Communicate with Animals.
00:23:24.924 --> 00:23:25.804
Tim Link: You'll be glad you did.
00:23:36.302 --> 00:23:43.482
Announcer: PetLifeRadio.com Welcome back to Animal Writes on PetLife Radio.
00:23:44.102 --> 00:23:53.402
Tim Link: Continue our conversation with author and uber guru of all writing skills, Cathryn Michon, and her latest book, I'm Still Here, at Dog's Purpose Forever.
00:23:53.542 --> 00:24:03.402
Tim Link: Now, Cathryn, before, as a reminder here, I know you did something special with the book because the book's not officially launching for a little bit, for another month or so.
00:24:03.822 --> 00:24:13.002
Tim Link: But you did a pre-launch, sort of give people a special opportunity to get a special book and at some special locations.
00:24:13.022 --> 00:24:14.002
Tim Link: So tell us a little bit about that.
00:24:14.022 --> 00:24:16.402
Cathryn Michon: Yeah, well, thank you for letting me tell you about that.
00:24:16.442 --> 00:24:26.122
Cathryn Michon: First of all, we've partnered with 46 independent bookstores across the United States and Canada, because we've made three movies in Canada and we have a lot of fans there.
00:24:26.142 --> 00:24:28.282
Cathryn Michon: So we have not left Canada out.
00:24:28.562 --> 00:24:47.322
Cathryn Michon: And it's a pre-sale program where you can customize this book, as I was talking about before, you get a beautiful art quality book plate that's signed by me, signed by my husband, the author of the original A Dog's Purpose, W.
00:24:47.342 --> 00:24:52.982
Cathryn Michon: Bruce Cameron, and signed by our cover model and my co-author, Tucker.
00:24:53.222 --> 00:25:06.902
Cathryn Michon: We actually captured his paw print and his paw print will be applied to the book plate and it has a beautiful poem on it that will inscribe it to your angel dog.
00:25:06.922 --> 00:25:11.882
Cathryn Michon: So we made one for our friend Tilly, who was the angel dog that lived next door.
00:25:11.902 --> 00:25:21.222
Cathryn Michon: I wrote on it for Tilly, who is still here, but who is also there with all the souls we've loved, souls bound in love forever.
00:25:21.542 --> 00:25:40.762
Cathryn Michon: So that book plate goes right opposite the title page, but then we also send you a little DIY photo kit with these gilded photo corners that allow you to mount a photograph of your dog on that beautiful painting of the paw prints and the footprints in the sand.
00:25:40.882 --> 00:25:46.882
Cathryn Michon: And all of that is free, except you have to pay shipping because they're not Amazon.
00:25:47.062 --> 00:25:53.342
Cathryn Michon: These are little independent bookstores who really suffered in COVID and we want to keep them alive.
00:25:53.362 --> 00:25:55.742
Cathryn Michon: So I'm not doing signed books anywhere else.
00:25:55.762 --> 00:26:11.962
Cathryn Michon: The only way you can get a signed first edition of the book is to go to adogspurposeforever.com and look at the list of 46 stores and pick one and order your book and give your inscription instructions in the comments section.
00:26:12.242 --> 00:26:27.822
Cathryn Michon: And it's a really beautiful opportunity to turn the book into a keepsake and also the book is actually already a best seller on Amazon and on Barnes and Noble, which is wonderful, but this publisher kind of didn't know that was gonna happen.
00:26:28.202 --> 00:26:36.162
Cathryn Michon: So they've already had to order two more print runs, which means the only way you can get a first edition is to pre-order from anywhere.
00:26:36.422 --> 00:26:38.902
Cathryn Michon: You could pre-order on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
00:26:38.982 --> 00:26:50.202
Cathryn Michon: I'm suggesting if you want it to be signed, you should do it through one of the Indies, but there will be no first editions on September 10th when this book comes out because it's already run through so many copies.
00:26:50.242 --> 00:26:52.942
Cathryn Michon: So I'll just tell you the thing about first editions.
00:26:53.122 --> 00:26:54.842
Cathryn Michon: So A Dog's Purpose published.
00:26:55.182 --> 00:27:02.302
Cathryn Michon: It was dedicated to me because the story was written for me and it was a very beautiful thing.
00:27:02.322 --> 00:27:12.602
Cathryn Michon: And as you mentioned, I am a pretty dedicated marketer and I was working so hard to get people to know about the book that they give you 20 copies.
00:27:12.642 --> 00:27:15.602
Cathryn Michon: The publisher gives you 20 copies and that's it for free.
00:27:15.902 --> 00:27:21.742
Cathryn Michon: And I gave away every single one of them to reviewers or to bookstore owners or whatever.
00:27:21.762 --> 00:27:25.342
Cathryn Michon: And those were the only first editions and the same thing happened with that book.
00:27:25.362 --> 00:27:29.162
Cathryn Michon: They ran out like on day one, there were no more first edition.
00:27:29.422 --> 00:27:35.782
Cathryn Michon: So I didn't have a first edition of this, what became a number one bestselling book that was dedicated to me.
00:27:36.042 --> 00:27:43.442
Cathryn Michon: So I had to go on eBay and pay $200 to get a first edition because I had given them all away.
00:27:43.602 --> 00:27:58.602
Cathryn Michon: So to anybody who cares about that or thinks that they might like that collectible first edition, they really should pre-order the book from anywhere, but then they should do it soon because they will go away as I learned rather expensively myself.
00:28:00.222 --> 00:28:01.682
Tim Link: An expensive lesson learned.
00:28:01.702 --> 00:28:02.162
Tim Link: I love that.
00:28:02.282 --> 00:28:04.422
Tim Link: And how clear they doubt you guys.
00:28:04.882 --> 00:28:07.802
Tim Link: They should have known from the get-go this thing would sell out.
00:28:08.122 --> 00:28:13.682
Tim Link: When I first heard the book that you wrote the book and it was coming out, I was thrilled, obviously.
00:28:14.002 --> 00:28:15.822
Tim Link: And then what you did with it after that.
00:28:15.842 --> 00:28:23.882
Tim Link: I think it's a beautiful way for helping independent bookstores, first of all, special edition, only time you can get a sign one.
00:28:23.902 --> 00:28:29.662
Tim Link: I think everything you did with it was very sweet, kind, very brilliant in every way.
00:28:29.682 --> 00:28:31.802
Tim Link: And of course, I don't expect anything less from you, Cathryn, so-
00:28:31.822 --> 00:28:32.162
Cathryn Michon: Thank you.
00:28:32.182 --> 00:28:37.342
Cathryn Michon: But really, we have a very active relationship with our fans.
00:28:37.362 --> 00:28:43.122
Cathryn Michon: We have almost half a million fans on social media and we have conversations.
00:28:43.142 --> 00:28:44.622
Cathryn Michon: We talk to people.
00:28:44.922 --> 00:28:50.582
Cathryn Michon: We don't, it's not like our, if you go to our Facebook page or our Dog's Purpose page, we'll have a conversation with you.
00:28:50.602 --> 00:28:55.542
Cathryn Michon: We want to have a conversation with you about the things we create.
00:28:55.722 --> 00:29:07.362
Cathryn Michon: And all of this, this ability to customize the book, the photo kit, the art book plate, all of that came from requests, what fans wanted.
00:29:07.382 --> 00:29:15.302
Cathryn Michon: They like, I want to be able to make this book be in honor of my angel dog or my friend's angel dog.
00:29:15.782 --> 00:29:19.602
Cathryn Michon: And there are no adult, you could read this book to a child.
00:29:19.962 --> 00:29:23.922
Cathryn Michon: There's nothing controversial about it, but it is written for adults.
00:29:24.162 --> 00:29:28.802
Cathryn Michon: It is meant to be of comfort and joy to adults.
00:29:29.142 --> 00:29:30.882
Cathryn Michon: And there's nothing else out there.
00:29:30.902 --> 00:29:35.262
Cathryn Michon: If you go to your local bookstore and say, my friend, her dog just passed, what can I get him for a gift?
00:29:35.302 --> 00:29:37.442
Cathryn Michon: It's like, uh, I don't know.
00:29:37.842 --> 00:29:39.842
Cathryn Michon: That gift book is not out there.
00:29:39.862 --> 00:29:42.542
Cathryn Michon: It's like something that's very needed, I think.
00:29:42.982 --> 00:29:43.482
Tim Link: That's it.
00:29:43.522 --> 00:29:45.102
Tim Link: Yeah, it's very needed and helpful.
00:29:45.122 --> 00:29:46.262
Tim Link: It's a very personal touch.
00:29:46.282 --> 00:29:57.702
Tim Link: I remember back my father-in-law years ago, whether it was one of my books or just a book in general, if we gifted it, he would return it back until there was something inscribed on it.
00:29:57.722 --> 00:30:00.242
Tim Link: It was signed and there was some sort of message.
00:30:00.402 --> 00:30:01.002
Tim Link: Yeah.
00:30:01.182 --> 00:30:07.142
Tim Link: And so I think that carries on in this book with the tradition and it takes it a little bit step further as well.
00:30:07.542 --> 00:30:09.482
Tim Link: And I've said it on the show many, many times.
00:30:09.502 --> 00:30:16.302
Tim Link: I'm blessed to have this show and to be able to have so many great books and get to speak to the authors and have friendships with the various authors.
00:30:16.702 --> 00:30:26.122
Tim Link: But I will say my bookshelves are limited and there's only X number of spots that the books that I'm going to reference back to time and time again.
00:30:26.142 --> 00:30:29.922
Tim Link: And then this book is definitely one that will be on my shelf for sure.
00:30:30.042 --> 00:30:36.402
Cathryn Michon: You know, it's funny, I've had some emotional things, family illnesses lately, you know, just things that sort of challenge you.
00:30:36.522 --> 00:30:43.522
Cathryn Michon: And I have picked up the book, you know, because it really reminds me about what really matters and what's eternal.
00:30:43.662 --> 00:30:51.902
Cathryn Michon: And, you know, I think that there are certain books that can be like a touchstone, a keepsake that lifts you up.
00:30:51.922 --> 00:30:56.742
Cathryn Michon: And I'm really hopeful that I'm still here, A Dog's Purpose Forever is that book.
00:30:56.762 --> 00:31:09.222
Cathryn Michon: I will say, you know, it went out on NetGalley in digital arcs and the reviews like on Goodreads, like there's like 80 some reviews now.
00:31:09.382 --> 00:31:16.982
Cathryn Michon: And it's just overwhelming how many people are loving it and saying, you know, I just put my dog down.
00:31:17.002 --> 00:31:18.802
Cathryn Michon: This really is helping me.
00:31:18.822 --> 00:31:24.582
Cathryn Michon: This reminds me why I don't regret having had that relationship.
00:31:24.942 --> 00:31:33.762
Tim Link: Yeah, you know, and I've always been, I wouldn't use the word amazed, but it always touches me in the fact that I think when it comes to our animals, we all love our animals.
00:31:33.762 --> 00:31:37.082
Tim Link: Everybody knows that some of us show it more than others.
00:31:37.582 --> 00:31:42.362
Tim Link: But the end of the day, I think we also as humans wonder if we're the only ones.
00:31:43.102 --> 00:31:44.582
Tim Link: Should I be feeling this way?
00:31:44.682 --> 00:31:47.462
Tim Link: Is it okay for me to be grieving this?
00:31:47.482 --> 00:31:56.282
Cathryn Michon: Yeah, some people will strain people and say, well, it's just a dog or, you know, where I'm like, no, these are family members.
00:31:56.522 --> 00:31:58.662
Cathryn Michon: Tucker is part of our family.
00:31:59.302 --> 00:32:03.082
Cathryn Michon: All the dogs that we have loved have been part of our family.
00:32:03.342 --> 00:32:16.242
Cathryn Michon: And I think it's appropriate when you have a relationship with a creature who does nothing but give you unconditional love, a little bit conditional sometimes regarding chicken.
00:32:18.162 --> 00:32:26.642
Cathryn Michon: Yeah, I will say there are some things that he advocates, but in general, he will love you without chicken coming forth, you know?
00:32:26.902 --> 00:32:40.162
Cathryn Michon: And I think that it teaches us that grief is appropriate and important when you have lost the physical presence of a soul that you love.
00:32:40.582 --> 00:32:52.162
Cathryn Michon: This book is meant to remind you, it's right there in the title, I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever, that they are still here and that the relationship is forever.
00:32:52.502 --> 00:33:03.042
Cathryn Michon: And that is something that you can be a touchstone, can bring you back to your center to help you move through loss or grief.
00:33:03.722 --> 00:33:11.082
Cathryn Michon: Because if you believe, that will sustain you and it will allow you to open your heart to another dog.
00:33:11.102 --> 00:33:20.102
Cathryn Michon: Both my husband and I believe that at the end of their lives, our dogs really want us to have a dog.
00:33:20.122 --> 00:33:24.402
Cathryn Michon: If there isn't another dog in the house, I think they wonder who will be their dog.
00:33:24.402 --> 00:33:26.462
Cathryn Michon: I'm leaving, who will be their dog?
00:33:26.782 --> 00:33:30.362
Cathryn Michon: So that's a big part of the message of this book too.
00:33:30.542 --> 00:33:36.622
Cathryn Michon: And in the book, the dog says, all dog souls are different, but they are all good.
00:33:36.862 --> 00:33:39.082
Cathryn Michon: And I believe that, like they really are.
00:33:39.542 --> 00:33:40.662
Tim Link: I do believe it too.
00:33:40.802 --> 00:33:41.682
Tim Link: I do believe it too.
00:33:41.702 --> 00:33:43.962
Tim Link: I believe that they're always around us.
00:33:44.222 --> 00:33:50.682
Tim Link: I believe that they send special dogs to us, special creatures to us in some fashion.
00:33:50.702 --> 00:34:02.602
Tim Link: They always show up in some fashion, whether we're out looking for them and looking for a particular type of dog and we end up with some other type, or they show up at our doorstep or they show up at a friend's doorstep, whatever it may be, they'll come back around.
00:34:02.762 --> 00:34:05.282
Tim Link: And I do believe in animals that's been a part of our life.
00:34:05.442 --> 00:34:11.662
Tim Link: Dogs will leave that teaching, that imprint with the new animal because they're coming into their family.
00:34:11.682 --> 00:34:16.602
Cathryn Michon: Yeah, I believe that the dog you love today was sent by the dog you loved yesterday.
00:34:17.102 --> 00:34:24.442
Cathryn Michon: I believe that my dog, Ellie, had a huge hand in bringing Tucker to us.
00:34:24.642 --> 00:34:40.342
Cathryn Michon: And as often happens with me, I was resistant to it at first because he was brought to us by my stepdaughter who runs a rescue, and she's also a Denver cop, and she's a person who gets things done.
00:34:41.682 --> 00:34:47.822
Cathryn Michon: She decided that Tucker was the dog for us, and I'm like, we're not gonna do an out-of-state adoption.
00:34:47.842 --> 00:34:49.862
Cathryn Michon: We work with rescue.
00:34:49.882 --> 00:34:52.002
Cathryn Michon: She says, I'm coming Wednesday.
00:34:52.022 --> 00:35:05.082
Cathryn Michon: She flew in the dog, and I was very scrunchy face about it as we were driving to the airport, and like, well, look, the dog can stay for the weekend, and if it doesn't seem like it to fit, then she can take the dog back.
00:35:05.422 --> 00:35:17.122
Cathryn Michon: And then I got out and was standing on the curb at Southwest, and she had a little purple purse that had Tucker in it, and she pulled him on the purse, and she had to jand him to me, and I was like, oh, this is my dog.
00:35:17.962 --> 00:35:23.822
Cathryn Michon: Like, I lasted like three seconds, you know, my resistance.
00:35:24.062 --> 00:35:25.642
Cathryn Michon: And he is the perfect dog for us.
00:35:25.822 --> 00:35:33.642
Cathryn Michon: He, you know, he's been in movies, and he's exactly the show-busy dog that we needed, you know?
00:35:33.862 --> 00:35:35.142
Tim Link: That's it, he's perfect.
00:35:35.162 --> 00:35:36.782
Tim Link: Perfect in so many ways, that's for sure.
00:35:37.562 --> 00:35:42.462
Tim Link: Well, I promise I have to pick your brain on a writing just in general, because I know-
00:35:42.482 --> 00:35:45.482
Cathryn Michon: Okay, I don't like it, I'll give you a heads up.
00:35:45.582 --> 00:35:50.582
Cathryn Michon: I'm from the Gloria Steinem School of, I do not like writing, but I do like having written.
00:35:50.742 --> 00:36:27.362
Cathryn Michon: But I will say, I'm still here, A Dog's Purpose Forever, maybe was the easiest, no, easy is not right, the most joyful writing experience that I've had, because I was so focused on the message I knew people needed to hear, this reminder that our souls are eternal and their souls are eternal and we meet again, that it was so easy to find the separate pieces and pull them in, and Tucker would do something, or I would notice something about him having a bath.
00:36:27.722 --> 00:36:37.322
Cathryn Michon: He acts like if somebody had a hidden camera in our house and saw how terrified he is when I put him into the bath, they would call Animal Protective Services.
00:36:37.342 --> 00:36:39.902
Cathryn Michon: Like, he acts like he's being killed.
00:36:40.242 --> 00:36:46.722
Cathryn Michon: And I thought, well, this dog, this dog narrator has to really have some harsh words about bath, you know?
00:36:46.922 --> 00:36:54.722
Cathryn Michon: And then also in this book, because I'm also a film director and I'm a visual storyteller, I haven't written a book in 20 years.
00:36:54.942 --> 00:37:01.182
Cathryn Michon: This is the first book I've published in 20 years, but I have been a visual storyteller, a filmmaker in Hollywood all that time.
00:37:01.202 --> 00:37:06.242
Cathryn Michon: And so this book, I treated like a film and I storyboarded it.
00:37:06.282 --> 00:37:16.182
Cathryn Michon: I was shooting thousands of pictures of him and then sourcing other pictures on the web and from fans, different images of dogs.
00:37:16.382 --> 00:37:22.742
Cathryn Michon: So I basically laid it out as a visual story at the same time that I was writing it.
00:37:23.342 --> 00:37:27.942
Cathryn Michon: And that was a real pleasure for me because I have segwayed into being a filmmaker.
00:37:28.582 --> 00:37:35.642
Cathryn Michon: And so to write a graphic book, which I've never done before, but it's very much like storyboarding a movie.
00:37:35.662 --> 00:37:40.082
Cathryn Michon: It's like, here's how this story is going to be told through images.
00:37:40.342 --> 00:37:45.982
Cathryn Michon: And I was very focused on that I wanted there to be differently abled dogs in the book.
00:37:46.002 --> 00:37:55.042
Cathryn Michon: There's a dog in a cart, there's a tripod dog, there's different breeds, but I wanted the book to be inclusive in that way.
00:37:55.242 --> 00:38:02.242
Cathryn Michon: And so that it's like all dogs are welcome and represented by the images in this book, you know?
00:38:02.262 --> 00:38:14.442
Tim Link: I think that's brilliant, actually, you know, I'm always impressed, I'm always mind boggled when I'm talking to a writer like yourself or talking to Bruce in the fact that, okay, how do you flip the switches?
00:38:14.462 --> 00:38:24.062
Tim Link: Because I look at my switches, because writing a newspaper column, writing a magazine, writing a blog, then you write a book and you do a screen.
00:38:24.082 --> 00:38:31.302
Tim Link: They all have bits of the same things you can pull from, but on the other hand, they're totally different, different beings, different ways.
00:38:31.702 --> 00:38:50.962
Cathryn Michon: As you mentioned, I'm an actor, I'm a standup comic, I'm a director, I'm a writer, but what I am in all of these things and what you should be if you care about any of these art forms is you should be a storyteller and you should know why the story you're telling is worth telling and worth listening to.
00:38:50.982 --> 00:38:53.082
Cathryn Michon: There has to be a takeaway.
00:38:53.362 --> 00:39:03.422
Cathryn Michon: There has to be a message or a benefit or a feeling that comes from hearing this story because the world is full of stories and so many of them are awful.
00:39:03.642 --> 00:39:06.162
Cathryn Michon: Why should a person spend the time?
00:39:06.242 --> 00:39:08.082
Cathryn Michon: Why should they spend the time?
00:39:08.102 --> 00:39:29.682
Cathryn Michon: Even in the bathroom flipping through, I'm still here, A Dog's Purpose forever, because I believe and what I hope I achieved is that you get a takeaway or like, oh yes, I'm flipping through this book because it reminds me that my soul is eternal and that the souls of the creatures and people I love are eternal and that we meet again.
00:39:29.862 --> 00:39:34.162
Cathryn Michon: And that means that my time was worth it, but who cares about my time?
00:39:34.322 --> 00:39:36.042
Cathryn Michon: It's your time that matters.
00:39:36.342 --> 00:39:40.762
Cathryn Michon: It's the reader or the watcher or the listener who matters.
00:39:41.102 --> 00:39:46.222
Cathryn Michon: And that's what good storytellers in any medium should always be doing.
00:39:46.242 --> 00:39:47.562
Cathryn Michon: That's what songwriters do.
00:39:47.582 --> 00:39:48.722
Cathryn Michon: It's what dancers do.
00:39:48.722 --> 00:39:54.962
Cathryn Michon: It's what anybody, a journalist, anybody who takes the act of telling a story.
00:39:55.242 --> 00:39:55.862
Tim Link: Wonderful.
00:39:56.222 --> 00:39:56.982
Tim Link: I love that.
00:39:57.022 --> 00:39:58.842
Tim Link: And that is brilliant words of wisdom.
00:39:58.842 --> 00:40:00.782
Tim Link: And the message definitely comes through.
00:40:00.782 --> 00:40:02.242
Tim Link: So big kudos to you on that.
00:40:02.962 --> 00:40:04.642
Tim Link: So everybody pick up a copy of the book.
00:40:04.742 --> 00:40:07.922
Tim Link: I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever by Cathryn Michon.
00:40:07.942 --> 00:40:12.842
Cathryn Michon: And if you want it signed, you have to go to adogspurposporever.com.
00:40:12.882 --> 00:40:14.462
Tim Link: Yes, and go get that.
00:40:14.562 --> 00:40:16.142
Tim Link: That's gonna be super duper special.
00:40:16.162 --> 00:40:17.262
Tim Link: And don't be like Cathryn.
00:40:17.282 --> 00:40:19.662
Tim Link: We're gonna spend $200 later to get one of those.
00:40:19.862 --> 00:40:32.122
Cathryn Michon: I was so upset and literally, there were so few first editions in that first printing because they did this very small first printing that it took me a couple of months to even find a rare book dealer who had one.
00:40:32.142 --> 00:40:33.022
Tim Link: There you go.
00:40:33.042 --> 00:40:36.762
Tim Link: So be like Cathryn Michon in many, many, many ways, but don't be that way.
00:40:36.782 --> 00:40:37.602
Tim Link: Keep your first edition.
00:40:37.622 --> 00:40:39.542
Cathryn Michon: But don't waste $200 on a Boat Jordan hat.
00:40:39.742 --> 00:40:42.062
Cathryn Michon: Add it right in the house to probably keep one.
00:40:42.082 --> 00:40:44.222
Tim Link: Gotta keep at least one.
00:40:44.402 --> 00:40:47.062
Tim Link: Cathryn, thank you so much for coming back on the show.
00:40:47.462 --> 00:40:48.222
Tim Link: Big kudos.
00:40:48.402 --> 00:40:49.202
Tim Link: I love the book.
00:40:49.202 --> 00:40:50.142
Tim Link: Love everything you do.
00:40:50.162 --> 00:40:53.062
Tim Link: I love everything you and Bruce are and that you do.
00:40:53.082 --> 00:40:54.682
Tim Link: So keep up the great work.
00:40:55.002 --> 00:40:55.422
Tim Link: Yeah.
00:40:55.462 --> 00:40:56.102
Cathryn Michon: Thank you.
00:40:56.122 --> 00:41:06.422
Cathryn Michon: It's been a real, it's been the joy of our lives that we've been able to be storytellers about dogs because they are, we don't deserve them, but we're blessed to have them.
00:41:06.702 --> 00:41:08.622
Cathryn Michon: And I will always be grateful.
00:41:08.902 --> 00:41:12.062
Tim Link: Well, we will look forward to talking with you again, somewhere down the road.
00:41:12.082 --> 00:41:16.962
Tim Link: So everybody pick up a copy of the book, get the pre-order online at adogspurposeforever.com.
00:41:17.922 --> 00:41:22.682
Tim Link: The book is, I'm Still Here, A Dog's Purpose Forever by Cathryn Michon.
00:41:22.822 --> 00:41:24.902
Tim Link: Cathryn, thank you so much for being on the show.
00:41:24.922 --> 00:41:25.902
Tim Link: Thank you, Tim.
00:41:25.962 --> 00:41:27.402
Tim Link: Well, we're coming to end the show today.
00:41:27.842 --> 00:41:31.222
Tim Link: I wanna thank everyone for listening to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
00:41:31.382 --> 00:41:34.442
Tim Link: I wanna thank the producers and sponsors for making this show possible.
00:41:34.682 --> 00:41:38.622
Tim Link: If you have any questions, comments, ideas for the show, you can drop us a line.
00:41:38.642 --> 00:41:40.202
Tim Link: You can go to petliferadio.com.
00:41:40.542 --> 00:41:45.242
Tim Link: We'll be glad to answer your questions, entertain your comments, and bring on the people you wanna hear from most.
00:41:45.602 --> 00:41:46.122
Tim Link: And who knows?
00:41:46.322 --> 00:41:51.842
Tim Link: You'll write a great story about the animals in your life, and you may be the next guest on Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.
00:41:52.182 --> 00:41:52.942
Tim Link: Have a great day.
00:41:53.602 --> 00:41:56.582
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00:41:57.062 --> 00:41:59.622
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