I was debating whether or not to make this purchase because it received mixed reviews. As a pet parent, and not a professional, I didn't know if I could benefit from it. On the contrary, it was very informative and beneficial to me, who recently experienced a traumatic loss of a pet. My loss wasn't a 'death' loss; it was a very complicated custody battle. This was the only book I could find that addressed types of losses other than death. The information was objective and was presented in such a way that I felt I was speaking to my therapist and not to a friend or family member. Sometimes, getting the "reality" of what's happened from an objective perspective is more helpful than hearing your friend's point of view, which is often emotionally generated. I would recommend this book to someone who's recently experienced a terrible loss. For me, however, I wasn't able to read the book until after a few weeks had passed after the traumatic experience. My grief was too unbearable in the beginning to address the reality.
