Review: My Father's Words by Patricia MacLachlan

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My Father's Words is a heartwarming and truly superb children's story. Based loosely on the author's real experiences, My Father's Words is a story chronicling the grief of a young girl after loosing her father. Fiona's journey leads her to Thomas, a ex-patient of her father, who was a therapist, and the local animal shelter/kennel, where she and her brother (and neighbor Luke) can care for and be a companion to the dogs. Through the story, Fiona and her brother, Finn, discover that dogs may help us just as much as we help them and that even a two minute phone call each week can make a big difference.

My Father's Words was an emotional story introducing a healthy approach to grief and loss. I was deeply moved, not only by the story, but also by the author's foreword and intent. The personal nature of the story is reflected in the emotion and quality of the writing. The book not only approaches the difficult topics of grief and the emotional importance of our animals, but introduces many more important topics without losing the readibility for younger readers. Anger, blame, selflessness, the power of kindness, and even the stigma around mental health feature in Fiona's experiences and memories of her father.

I highly recommend this story to anyone with a younger reader in their house or someone dealing with loss and needing a calm, comforting read. I, personally, fully intend on making this story a permanent addition to my collection and plan to make it available for my future children to read.

*Note: this book was provided from a Goodreads giveaway, with hope of a review, but all opinions are my own