Review: Adventures in Veterinary Medicine by Ingrid King

Page after page, I found myself extremely interested in learning how someone could go from a corporate office job to being a veterinary assistant, a Reiki practitioner and ultimately, an author.

Where, you might ask, did I read such an interesting and unusual story? Adventures in Veterinary Medicine: What Working in Veterinary Hospitals Taught Me About Life, Love, and Myself by Ingrid King of The Conscious Cat Blog.

In Adventures in Veterinary Medicine, Ingrid breaks her story into nine short chapters that detail how she found her life path.

"The book offers a unique look at what really goes on in a veterinary hospital through the eyes of a former veterinary hospital manager, aka, yours truly. The book provides insight into what makes veterinary medicine such a rewarding profession through a series of stories about some of the pets I connected with during my twelve years working in the field." -Ingrid King

One chapter in particular that stood out to me was about a cat named Diesel. He had been found on the side of the road with a broken pelvis. The way he was found happens all too many times in the rescue world. Thank goodness for the few kind souls who will pull over off the road and pick up a hurt animal. 

Adventures in Veterinary Medicine is an eBook available on the Kindle. You don't need a kindle to read it - Amazon has a free reading pass for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android tablets/phones.

Ingrid is also the author of Buckley's Story and Purrs of Wisdom. You can read my review of Purrs of Wisdom here.

I definitely recommend Adventures in Veterinary Medicine to all of those who are interested in the profession or just simply love cats!

Book Review & Giveaway: Purrs of Wisdom by Ingrid King

Life moves fast in the 21^st century. Days blur together, work gets done (or not…) and life can sometimes be stressful. So how do you unwind and relax when you’re stressed?

When I’m stressed, my de-stressor is curling up in bed with a good book and a cat, of course! So what better book to be curled up with, on this cold and snowy Sunday night, than Ingrid King’s new book, Purrs of Wisdom.

The cover of Ingrid's Purrs of Wisdom. Image from Ingrid King.

Purrs of Wisdom is a go-to book of essays with words from a wise soul, my friend Ingrid, and how to live a life with balance, and find your bliss. 

Every chapter in Purrs of Wisdom offers a different technique for taking control of your life. In the chapter “Navigating Turbulent Times” Ingrid offers the sage advice, to “Spend time with your cat!”:

“Spending time with cats is one of the best ways I know to instantly shift your vibration from negative to positive. It’s impossible to be fearful and worried when you watch a kitten play or when you have a purring cat in your lap.”

Ingrid's Feebee, what a little beauty. Photo from Ingrid King.

What I really enjoyed about Purrs of Wisdom was in the beginning, reading about how Ingrid‘s cats came to her. She was twenty years old when she got her first cat, Feebee, from a childhood friend of her ex-husband. Amber was a stray brought into the animal hospital, which went home with Ingrid “just for the weekend” – and she never came back, remaining at Ingrid’s house as her new kitty! Buckley was the office cat in which Buckley’s Story:Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher is inspired from. This brings the reader to Ingrid’s current cats, tortoiseshells Allegra and Ruby. 

And in the second chapter of the book, who is featured but my own mother! She interviewed Ingrid for her blog – Helitzer Blouse Girl in this post: A day in the life of Ingrid King, author, blogger, cat expert and Reiki Master Practitioner. In Purrs of Wisdom, Ingrid mentions the blog post and how she has “been on a journey of following my bliss for more than two decades now”. 

Ingrid, like so many people, didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. From translating ad copy, travel agent to receptionist in corporate America. For twelve years, Ingrid “worked in various facets of the veterinary profession.” 

Ingrid with Amber. Photo from Ingrid King.

Ingrid found one of her passions as a Reiki Master Practitioner. She started her Healing Hands Reiki practice, as a trained Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki. She publishes her free online newsletter News for You and Your Pet – which you can subscribe to here.

Ingrid found her latest passion, writing! She began her blog, The Conscious Cat and soon started composing Buckley’s Story. 

Ingrid’s story of her different jobs is very interesting and inspiring to me. I’m one of the lucky few, who know exactly what they were born to do (though some days it definitely does not feel like that). I love writing and know that I want to be a journalist.

I really enjoyed Ingrid’s new book, because it gave me a new perspective not only for my job aspirations, but as a sensual human being. I never bought into the “breathing” relaxation tips, couldn’t do yoga and screaming into a pillow isn’t always an option. Purrs of Wisdom is a great book to learn how to be wise, relax and find balance in our crazy, stressful daily lives. 

 GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS! I'm very excited to be able to give away a copy of Purrs of Wisdom. Ingrid has offered to give away a signed printed copy, or an electronic copy - winner's choice! The print version is US only, but the eVersion is a giveaway open to everyone (if outside of US wins, they will get an eVersion). 

To Enter:  Please leave a comment with your email (you will not be entered if you do not leave contact information). Let me know where you will snuggle up to read the book, or how many cats will sit on your lap while you read! 

Giveaway is open until Sunday February 10, 2013 at 12 am EST! Winner will be promptly contacted by email.

Receiving a  complimentary book did not influence my review.