Our Symphony with Animals by Aysha Akhtar

Together, all the sounds of contented, rescued animals and of humans made a beautiful symphony. Ivy the pig, lying next to me, was snuffling in her sleep. The cows were mooing, the horses neighing, the ducks quacking. Renee and her husband Tommy were laughing over a joke they shared.

I was sitting in the grass one evening at the Rowdy Girl sanctuary, which is covered in my last chapter, and listening to everyone settling down for the night. I like to think that she and I would have been great friends if we had been classmates. And yet, she had the courage to fight their bullying and became a stronger person for it. Her classmates and teachers bullied her for wanting to save a pig she dearly loved. Lastly, the young girl, Alena Hidalgo, who I write about in the book’s final chapter remind me so much of myself when I was a girl. And yet his program started a hugely successful prison reform movement in the US. He was such a joy to meet! Dave is a jolly, humble fellow. It intrigued me to probe further: how can a person who demonstrated such cruelty also show moments of humanity? What in his life led to this duality?Ī person I really enjoyed meeting is David Lee, the social worker at Lima State Penitentiary who started the first animal therapy program in a US prison in the 1970’s.

When he told me he couldn’t hunt deer anymore after he heard a deer cry for hours in pain, I was utterly shocked. Most of us–this really needs no explaining–would prefer to avoid serial killers! But what stands out about Jesperson is that he showed surprising moments of empathy. What interaction stands out the most to you?

You come across an eclectic group of people in the book. Sacks wrote beautifully and with compassion about so many of the same neurological conditions I have seen in my own patients. In my own field of medicine, I love the writings of Oliver Sacks, who was a neurologist like myself. He used his scientific knowledge to help improve our world. He was also an advocate of environmental protection, human rights, and animal protection. He had an amazing way of distilling complex scientific information that was not just easy to read, but also enjoyable. The only time I ever skipped class in high school was to hear Sagan give a talk! That’s how much of a nerd I was (and am still). Who is your biggest writing inspiration? In your field of work?

Our Symphony with Animals by Aysha Akhtar