<DIV>Susan Chernak McElroy, author of the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>Animals As Healers and Teachers,</i> has long believed that animals offer solace as well as lessons in living to anyone willing to listen. In her bestseller <i>Animals As Teachers and Healers,</i> she told others' stories of the healing power of animals. In this book, she tells her own stories.<BR><BR>Described by the author as a kind of prayer, the ten stories here explore concepts of ownership; naming, and unnaming, things; interpreting signs and language; animals as mirrors of the soul; and honoring one's own stories. Typical is the story about rats that explores what it means to be stigmatized, for both humans and animals. Included are suggestions for practices and meditations that will guide readers into deeper connection with their own stories and their own relationships with those creatures with whom they share their lives.</div>