Cats & Daughters:: They Don't Always Come When Called

Is not about the good influence of a cat on a family in crisis, except as an afterthought. I suppose it's a good book if you're looking to read the experience of an adult daughter taking her life into a wildly unexpected direction, and a mother dealing with a nasty health diagnosis at the same time she's freaking about her daughter. But that's it. The cat doesn't come into it at all until about halfway through. If I had wanted to read about such depressing stuff - which I usually don't; I have enough serious problems of my own, and friends with the same - I would have chosen... Well, I don't know what. Again, I don't read this sort of angst. If it had been actual printed matter, I would have thrown it across the room in disgust at how misleading all the blurbs were.Especially as I didn't like the characters. The mother is going through a lot, yes, but she spends a lot of time trying to change her daughter's mind, and getting downright manipulative in her fantasies of how her daughter will turn around and give up everything to stay with her. Grow up, mom. The daughter's hell-bent on doing her Important Thing, and from my POV, it could just as well waited a year or so until her mother had gone through the worst. That would have been some worthy sacrifice right there. But no, she has to go off and do *different* worthy things that are more important than death-threatening disease. Grow up, daughter. Frankly, they deserve each other.Then the cat - a Siamese, or partially - turns out to be high-strung, somewhat destructive, too active, sprays inappropriately, and according to a supposed expert, is suffering from OCD or something. I was skimming by then. Hello people, he's a *Siamese*. They bond to their person and are very sensitive to their emotions. The poor cat had already been bought once, and returned because he was too much of a handful for the first owners. (Hint, hint there, people.) So his new person is recovering from major surgery, going through massive emotional swings, etc., blah blah, the rest of the family is dealing with all the enormous upheaval that implies, and said expert can only think the *cat* is the one with most of the problems? (Yes, he is. He's a victim, that's his problem. They should never have gotten at new cat at a time like that. One that was still a kitten, yet.) I know, let's put him on kitty Prozac! Bloody hell. I wanted to rescue the poor thing and get him to an owner that actually understood Siamese and had time to treat him right.Nothing uplifting here. The only one I felt sorry for was the poor cat.

First, let me say that I was not aware of the author's first book, "Cleo" until I began reading this book. I don't remember how I discovered the availability of this title but it captured my attention and it was added to my 'wish to read' list. This is a beautiful memoir by Helen Brown to delight every aspect of a reader's senses from the beauty of the cover design by Colleen Andrews to the collage of color family photographs on the first page to the author's remembrances throughout the pages. The descriptions of experiences, thoughts and emotions are shared with honesty and without hesitation.As I am a daughter that wandered away from my home town on two occasions to follow my heart - once for professional exploration and once simply to follow my heart - I can truly understand some of the perplexing conversations through the years between mother and daughter. As dearest cat Jolie continued to live with Mother throughout the years of these same wanderings I have a deep appreciation for Jonah's nurturing of Helen Brown's family as well as his soulful reactions.This is a very special glimpse of the bonds shared by mothers and daughters, the friendship circle of women when courage, strength and hope are needed for sharing in higher volumes but softly without fanfare and the unconditional love between cats and their forever families.

We had just acquired two Maine Coon Kittens so I decided to read cats and daughters having four daughters too. I was either laughing or crying. The story was fantastic to read . You are an amazing author and I plan to read more of you soon.Thank you for a wonderful few hours of pleasant reading. I would recommend the book to all friends and family.

Now I just HAVE to read Cloe, her first book. Great sense of hunor. Lots of chuckles while reading. I really recommend this book. Excellent writing.

This is a follow-up to Helen Brown's earlier book, "Cleo: the Cat Who Mended a Family". That one was a difficult read because of the tragedy of Sam's death, but after I finished it, I felt like I was good friends with everyone in the family. So I was pleased when I learned of this book, because I wanted to know what had happened next with Helen's family. I was not disappointed. I got to share in the next phase of the family's lives--Rob's marriage, and Lydia's quest for spiritual growth, and Helen's deepening understanding of her daughters. The author also showed her courage when faced with cancer. It was also interesting to 'see behind the scenes' of how a best selling book came to be written--and how it impacted the world.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope a third one comes along soon.

Very much looking forward to reading "Cats and Daughters", it will be my third book written by Helen Brown. Highly recommend her books about cats as well as the human interest side. I felt like I was actually there with her experiencing what she was experiencing. You will LOVE her books, especially if you love cats.

As I am wont to do, I read the sequel, Cats and Daughters, loved it and am now reading the first book, Cleo. In any order, they both deliver a strong message. Embrace life you don't get another this go-round. I don't have a daughter. I do have a sister and I do have a cat. Neither the sister or the cat necessarily comes when called so I'm guessing daughters are the same way. Also cool is the fact the author hails from New Zealand. She is correct; people remain the same, past, present, future and on various parts of the globe.

I’ve read “Cleo” a few times and enjoyed the opportunity to see what happens next. It was great to see what the family is up to; how Australia panned out; who married who and how everyone was getting along.That being said, I feel the concept for this one is a bit thin, and it would have been stronger if it was simply: “After Cleo” or similar. Jonah isn’t an enormous presence or catalyst in this novel, and the bulk of the story is about Helen’s daughter. While this is a fine enough journey to take the reader on, the cat doesn’t really anchor the narrative like Cleo did, so the title is misleading.When Jonah does appear, it feels like much is made of tiny details to pad things out, like how much Jonah enjoys a piece of ribbon, and this doesn’t move the story along. I can appreciate that Jonah was a comfort during a challenging personal time, but references to these times are fleeting. “Cleo” really hinged on the iconic cat Cleo, and was such a catalyst for people’s growth; if you removed Jonah from this story, it would remain largely intact. Jonah is mentioned as a flash-forward til Page 4 and doesn’t appear again until Page 110. This does not a protagonist make.It was frustrating to contend with Helen‘s despairing about her daughter’s life choices throughout. Initially this is understandable, but it simply goes on. Assuming her independent advocating daughter has been brainwashed by the monk gets tedious. And then we get the play-by-play of the ‘Cleo’ book launch and tour. And then the baby arrives. Fascinating stuff but this all, again, has nothing to do with Jonah. It simply feels like Jonah is a gimmick. I think the readers who loved Cleo would have come along for a post-Cleo jaunt without that limp thread. As it stands, it drags on and I gave up about 60% of the way.

Cats And Daughters by Helen Brown continues Helen's story from where her book Cleo left off. However I had not read her first book but it didn't matter as any info I needed was provided. I now intend to read Cleo as I loved Helen Brown's style of writing.I was attracted to the book by the cover and thought I would be reading about a small kitten. The book is about so much more. It is about Helen's life after Cleo (her first cat). Jonah, her second cat, only makes an appearance after about a hundred pages.Helen Brown has not had an easy life, far from it. She has faced much heartache. She has found that cats can help you heal. Cats can be very therapeutic. They are intuitive, sensing a need and responding. "Cleo had taught Rob (Helen's son) to trust life again." Cleo had left a hole in the family's life but "as I wrote about her, Cleo seemed more alive than ever."Helen faces breast cancer. She realises that "the only thing that really matters is love and kindness." Life can be hard enough without people causing more hardship. We need to go through life helping people, sensing their needs and loving them.Whilst facing this cancer struggle, Helen's older daughter was exploring Buddhism. Helen shares her fears about potentially losing her daughter to a monastery. Helen shows that one of the hardest things about being a parent is having to let go and let your children be who they want to be. "Daughters, like cats, are only ever on loan."Helen Brown writes Cats And Daughters with very raw honesty. She shares her fears as she faces her own mortality. "Does a brush with death mean you're going to stop living?" She shares her pain after surgery. She shares her love for her family and her cat.There are some very light hearted moments in the book following Jonah's arrival. Kittens are always a bouncing bundle of joy and Jonah is no exception. I laughed at some of his antics and despaired at others - knowing all too well the awful smell of a territory marked by a cat.If you love cats, you will like this book. If you are a parent, you will like this book. In fact, whoever you are, this book is a great read.Thank you Helen for sharing your story - your hopes, your fears, your family and your cat. Bless you all.

When I finished Helen Brown's first book entitled Cleo - I simply had to see if she had written anything else. I was delighted when I found she had written a sequel. She is a superb writer - she tells a great story with wit, passion and emotion. (I was a little confused as there are two books after Cleo - apparently 'After Cleo came Jonah' is the exact same book as this one - just published in a different country.) This is one of the best written books I've read (and I've read a lot!).

I chose this particular book as I had already read "Cleo" and found it entertaining and extremely moving. I am only a third of the way through reading "After Cleo came Jonah" but am finding it just as good. So far there is nothing about the book, that I dislike and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about real people's lives. Helen Brown has suffered more than her fair share of knocks in life but hasn't allowed them to blight everything for evermore. Writing about it has obviously been part of the healing process for Helen.

What an incredible writer Helen Brown is , I was kept spellbound by this book as I had with her first book Cleo! Not only was the book about her new cat Jonah it continues to tell the story of Helen's breast cancer journey ! Helen's daughter Lydia's adventures in Sri Lanka as a pre- Buddhist nun! Amazing & very humbling! A must read !Mrs J Adams