"Journey Home-A Cat's Tale" (Second Edition) is a heartwarming, inspiring, philosophical story for all ages about life's journey from the perspective of an abandoned and homeless cat-a story based upon actual events that weaves together many of life's lessons parallel to our own.
Born in a small town on the coast of Maine, an unpretentious cat named "Patches" encounters life changing experiences during his early years. His siblings are given away, his father disappears one cold winter day in a dark coastal forest, abandoning him and his mother, and he's discarded by an uncaring owner and left homeless without food and shelter. During his struggles to piece his life back together, he encounters Chester, a relocated cat from New York City, who helps him find food and shelter, and Buster, a neighborhood stray who teaches him the meaning of empathy toward others, and Tate, a homeless man who brings about profound changes to Patches' life. During a life-threatening blizzard late one night, Patches seeks food and shelter from the storm within an old garbage dumpster. As he jumps into the dumpster, his paw is ensnared by the steel jaws of a leg-trap. In severe pain, his thoughts are engulfed by past memories. He recalls an overgrown forest trail, visualizes gnarled trees captured by time in an ancient neglected cemetery, and reflects upon a cryptic conversation he and his father once had when they shared time together wandering among old weathered stone tablets. Will he discover what has become of his siblings, ever understand his father's message about life and why he abandoned him, and ever find a new home? Will he survive the below zero wrath of the blizzard in an uncaring darkness and discover a pathway in life that leads to the answers he seeks?
Patches' journey of survival and self-discovery helps us to understand the complexities we face in life. His story is a sense of helplessness and despair, the loss of innocence, a conviction to never give up, no matter the circumstance, and imparts an insight to understand the meaning of friendship, to always move forward, and to evaluate situations before making judgements. His life-changing experiences provide many lessons from which we all can learn-a journey relevant to each one of us-a journey we all share throughout our lives.
Plante, Russell H.: - Russell H. Plante is an Engineering Physicist with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine, a Minor in Electrical Engineering, and post-graduate courses in Business Administration. He has held positions within the Department of Defense as a Branch Head in Control Engineering, Welding Engineering, and Quality Control Engineering Analysis. He has also maintained engineering positions in Solar Energy development and analysis, receiving awards for Solar Building Engineering Design from the State of Maine Office of Energy Resources and for Energy Innovation Technologies from the U.S. Department of Energy.A skilled technical writer with a diverse writing background, he is a previously published author of two academic publications regarding photovoltaic and domestic hot water energy applications published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and Academic Press (Elsevier). In addition to his non-fiction works, he has had four novels traditionally published. His novel, "A Sense of Purpose In Life", is a sequel to this story that imparts a philosophical message for all readers. He resides in the State of Maine with his wife Kathy and eight cats (seven of them strays saved from an abutting forest) where there's always a chance of a blizzard during the cold winter months and time to contemplate and create meaningful stories-even with the help of an inquisitive cat or two. Reviews, book trailers, and information regarding his books are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, YouTube, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Facebook Author Page, Website at (www.russellhplante.com), and other sources. He is a member of Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
