Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean Paperback – May 2, 2013

A METAPHOR FOR GALAXY'S LIFE COULD BE A WORM CRAWLING ON THE EDGE OF A RAZOR BLADE (I.E., A LINE FROM THE MOVIE ''APOCALYPSE NOW''). LIKE MANY GIFTED PEOPLE, BECAUSE HE'S SO EXTRAORDINARILY SMART, GALAXY SEES FINE NUANCES IF HIS STRUGGLES AROUND PLEASING HIS FATHER, DISCOVERING AND MASTERING A CAREER, HE ACTUALLY CREATED FROM NOTHING LIKE VAN GOGH DID IN THE ART WORLD. GALAXY HAS MANY OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME. FOR EXAMPLE, HE ISN'T WELL UNDERSTOOD, LIKE MANY OTHER BRILLANT PEOPLE. IN MANY WAYS, HE'S ISOLATED COPING WITH CRONIC ANXIETY, PTSD, AND MULTIPLE ADDICTIONS (E.G. LEGAL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, AND FOOD). FOR 34 YEARS, I WORKED IN AN AREA OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE, SPECIFICALLY WITH BOTH YOUNG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. THIS BOOK IS BRUTALLY HONEST, AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. IT'S PRECISE, INSIGHTFUL, FIERCE IN ITS DESCRIPTIONS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS OF GROWING UP ALONE IN THE WORLD. GALAXY IS A COMPLEX INDIVIDUAL. HE'S A MAN WHO WAS A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN BY NIGHT,NOW A WRITER OF BOTH MUSIC AND BOOKS, WHILE FOR ANOTHER PART OF HIS LIFE, GALAXY ALSO WAS EMPLOYED IN AN ANIMAL SHELTER WITH ALL ITS HORROR STORIES OF LIVING THINGS, WHICH NEVER MADE IT OUT OF THOSE BUILDINGS. GALAXY IS A GENIUS WITH NO FORMAL UNIVERSITY CREDENTIALS BESIDE HIS NAME, HOWEVER, FROM MINUTE OBSERVATIONS ALONE, GALAXY REINVENTS THE ENTIRE WAY CATS ARE UNDERSTOOD IN NORTH AMERICA. OF COURSE, HIS FATHER WASN'T PLEASED WITH HIM. HIS FATHER WANTED GALAXY TO JUST GET A REAL JOB, ANY JOB, THAT PAID WELL, BUT GALAXY IS GIFTED, CREATIVE, AND COMPASSIONATE. HE ABHORS SUFFERING IN THE INNOCENT AND THE HELPLESS. INDIVIDUALLY, GALAXY INVENTED A WHOLE NEW CAREER FIELD AROUND FELINES AND HE HAS BECOME THE TOP CAT BEHAVORIST IN THE UNITED STATES. LIKE STEVE JOBS, GALAXY IS AN INVENTOR. I USED TO WALK TO A PUBLIC LIBRARY WITH MY MOTHER, WHEN I WAS 4 YEARS OLD, 70 YEARS AGO. I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO BOOKS BEING READ TO ME, AND I HAVE BEEN READING BOOKS MYSELF EVER SINCE. THIS BOOK "CAT DADDY" IS IN THE TOP 2 BEST BOOKS, I'VE EVER READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I COULDN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!! GALAXY IS SO VERY, VERY BRAVE, AND SO, SO HONEST. IF MOST PEOPLE WERE EVEN HALF AS AUTHENTIC AS GALAXY IS, THEY WOULD BE HIDING IN THEIR BASEMENT OUT OF EMBARRASSMENT AND NEVER COME OUT. HOW MANY OF US PRESENT A FALSE FRONT TO THE WORLD? HOW MANY OF US ARE AN ACTOR, OR AN ACTRESS ON A STAGE? HOW MANY OF US COMPLAIN ABOUT LIFE, BUT NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR LIFE'S UGLY PROBLEMS? DID AN ABANDONED, BROKEN CAT FIND GALAXY, OR DID GALAXY FIND HIM? THIS BOOK IS LIKE SCORCHED EARTH, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY, EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE FOR ALL TO SEE. THIS MAN AND HIS CAT ARE MIRRORS OF EACH OTHER. BOTH OF THEM WOULD HAVE DIED YOUNG WITHOUT FINDING THEIR TWIN, BUT FATE AND LOVE INTERVENED. THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT GIFT, AND VALENTINE'S DAY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

I think this may be the first review I've written in Amazon, but I wanted to share my feelings about what I thought about this book. As one who loves cats and true Cinderella stories, this book was a wonderful combination of heart, inspiration determination, progression, tenacity, and let's not forget, the love of cats. Jackson truly is an inspiration and his brutal honesty and kind heart shine through in this book. I actually cried right along with Jackson when he lost Benny....not really a spoiler, so sorry if it sounds like it.Because of his brutal and honest thoughts, the language can be profane so I wouldn't recommend children reading this, but I could see it happening if a parent read it and edited it for them. I think it's a good story for youth to see how Jackson worked though his weaknesses and he puts it in a down-to-earth real perspective that doesn't sounds arrogant at all. In fact, I thought it was a very humble story of Jackson's life and how cats and close humans helped him throughout his life. The sign of a great person is humbling oneself enough to identify a problem, accepting help and working through that problem despite how difficult and challenging it can be. Jackson is hard on himself....I'm sure many of us can relate on some level...but he is a great example of working through and conquering and reconquering trials and weaknesses and not quitting.It's more than a memoir. It's more than cat advice, which I absolutely loved and use on my Bengal cat. It's more than a story about the relationship between he and Benny. This is a story about never giving up, never giving into fears and doubts, learning and embracing talents and using those talents for good for human and cat. It's a story of learning to love others, human and cat alike, learning to accept who you are and love yourself no matter what your doubts, fears, and others say about you. It's a book about learning not to accept failure despite what you think your life's patterns are. It's learning to embrace success without fearing it. It's a story of letting hope and love of human and cat alike drive your life instead of negativity from others and negative thinking run your life.I could go on and on with my praises, but it's better just to read the book! I can't do it justice! Perhaps I love this book so much because I have had my own challenges in life that have come close to conquering my spirits to the point of just giving up. Even though they are different challenges than what Jackson had to conquer, they are things I have had to get through and still work through...that's life and it can be ugly and cruel. We all have our own personal trials and challenges that we have to get through and it can be very hard. This book helps me see that, even though it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at times, through perseverance, hard work, hope, faith, help from close humans and cats alike, etc, there are better things ahead. The great thing is that Jackson wasn't necessarily writing his story as a self-help book, so there isn't that, "to be successful, you must do this," kinda attitude like he's the authority....even he said he has no letters after his name....but it goes from a beautiful story of his and Benny's life to show the reader several real life applications and aspects in his life that can be adapted and applied to anyone's life.