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Key points
- Her new book 'Cow Hug Therapy' explains how animals can become mentors for all of us in how to live and die.
- Their individual stories of being rescued from trauma and treated with love and respect are transformative.
Nonhuman animals (animals) can teach us many life lessons if we open our heads and hearts to who they are and what they know and feel. When I learned about Ellie Laks' new book Cow Hug Therapy: How the Animals at the Gentle Barn Taught Me about Life, Death, and Everything In Between, I couldn't wait to read it and I did in one long and pensive sitting.
Animals need all the help they can get in an increasingly human-dominated world. The animals at The Gentle Barn, the organization Laks founded, are most fortunate to have Laks and her dedicated coworkers take care of them and give them a voice and hope for having much better lives than they previously had.
Cows are highly emotional and sentient beings who deserve to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect, and when we do so, they and we benefit. Cow Hug Therapy clearly shows that when we care for other animals and honor who they are and what they need, we also profit; a win-win for all. Here's what Ellie had to say about her eye-opening new book.
Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Cow Hug Therapy?
Ellie Laks: I wrote Cow Hug Therapy because of the remarkable stories of our rescued animals and because of the way they heal hurting humans once they recover. The animals who I have had the privilege to know and love for more than two decades have helped me be more human. They have taught me about self-care, mental health, the importance of gratitude and meditation, and how to recover from grief. I believe that the best parts of myself have been learned from animals, and it is not just me that they are trying to reach. Animals have messages and encouragement for us all about a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and they need to be heard.
MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?
EL: From the time I was seven years old, I told anyone who would listen that when I grew up, I would have a big place full of animals and would show the world how beautiful they are. I finally founded The Gentle Barn in 1999 and, after having spent twenty-five years in a barnyard, I have so many stories to tell of the many ways our rescued animals taught and inspired me. The Gentle Barn creates miracles and magic for both hurting animals and hurting humans every day, and their stories of resilience must be shared. It is one of the ways that I can show the world how remarkable animals are and, at the same time, inspire readers to take the animal’s insights with them to apply to their own lives.
Going through the challenges of growing up, it was always animals who listened as I cried, made me feel wanted, and encouraged me to keep going when I didn’t want to be here. Because of this, I have a deep understanding of what it is like to be saved and healed by animals. Not only did I always love animals, but I studied psychology and special education, working extensively with children and those with disabilities and trauma, and I know that animals can reach places in people that sometimes traditional therapy cannot.
MB: Who do you hope to reach with this book?
EL: I'd like to reach animal lovers around the world and those who could stand to better understand animals. I'd like to reach everyone who is on their own healing journey, and those who could use a little pick me up and good advice from animals who have been traumatized, lost, healed, and gone through their own healing journey to inspire and heal us. I'd like to reach empaths, caregivers, and heroes who give of themselves until there is nothing left and share with them the animals’ messages of self-care so they can get through their compassion fatigue and keep going. And I'd like to reach anyone who has gone through loss and tell them of the great many animals I have known who taught me how to grieve and then realize that our loved ones never leave us.
.jpg?itok=bn9my17e "Ellie Laks/with permission.")
MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?
EL: Cow Hug Therapy tells the stories of our rescued animals before we found them, their healing journeys once they came to The Gentle Barn, and their process of forgiveness, trust, and recovery. Then, it shares about the animals’ capacities to pay it forward and inspire, heal, and help hurting humans. In these tales of resilience, readers will learn about meditation, gratitude, surrender, celebrating birth, recovering from grief, practicing self-care, getting through compassion fatigue, and becoming the leaders for ourselves, animals, each other, and the planet that we are meant to be, all from our rescued animals’ perspectives.
MB: How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?
EL: There have been many books about self-care, mental health, meditation, practicing gratitude, and surrender, but not through an animal’s brilliance. There have been many books about animals and animal rescue, but not for the benefit, inspiration, and healing of humans.
Humanity is in trouble! We are destroying the natural world, enslaving animals, and are completely disconnected from who we are meant to be. It is time we start turning toward animals, listening to their wisdom, and learning from them. That is how we will reconnect to ourselves, to our environment, and to each other.
MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about cows and other rescued animals, they will treat them with more respect, dignity, and compassion?
EL: Yes, I believe that the more we learn about animals and the more we learn from them, the more we will realize that although we look different, we are all the same. This is the greatest time to be alive in history because there is no “they” that will come to our rescue or change things until each of us, as individuals, awakens to love and gentleness. Treating animals with more respect, dignity, and compassion is the only way we will save animals, our environment, and ultimately save ourselves. As I wrote in Cow Hug Therapy, “If the planet is to thrive, if our bodies are to heal, and the animals are to be loved, it is time for all of us to tell a new story.”
References
In conversation with Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation. Ellie has two decades of experience as a public speaker, with appearances including a TEDx talk, and has given interviews to numerous magazines and newspapers. She has appeared on Good Morning America, TODAY, Ellen, Yahoo News, Verywell Health, and local CBS, NBC, and cable news/culture shows.
Life Lessons from Dogs, Orcas, Pigs, Cows, Rats and Chickens; Cows: Science Shows They're Bright and Emotional Individuals; The Emotional Lives of Cows: Ears Tell Us They're Feeling OK; Respecting Animal Sentience and Rejecting Human Elitism.
