Aysha Akhtar, M.D. is a double Board-Certified in both
Neurology and Preventive Medicine and has a Master’s Degree in
Public Health. She serves as Medical Officer for the Office of
Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats of the Food and Drug
Administration, for which she has Top Secret Security Clearance.
She is an Officer (Lieutenant Commander) in the U.S. Public Health
Services, in which she deploys to assist with national public
health emergencies. She is also a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for
Animal Ethics and is a Consultant Editor for the Journal of Animal
Ethics. She is the author of Animals and Public Health and lives in
Maryland.
Carl Safina's work has been recognized with MacArthur,
Pew, and Guggenheim Fellowships, and his writing has won Orion,
Lannan, and National Academies literary awards and the John
Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. He has a PhD in
ecology from Rutgers University and he hosted the 10-part PBS
series Saving the Ocean with Carl Safina. He is the
author of seven books, most recently Beyond Words: What
Animals Think and Feel.
Our Symphony with Animals is a beautiful, compassionate, and
important book. Dr. Akhtar deftly weaves her personal and
professional experiences into the scientific story of how humans
are designed to bond with animals--and the cost, to us and to the
rest of animate creation, of breaking that bond. Her wonderful book
is at once intimate and global, and its message is crucial: empathy
with our fellow animals is vital for the health of humans and
non-humans alike.
*Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature*
"A heartfelt call for compassion for all living species."
*Kirkus Reviews*
"Akhtar uses personal childhood trauma to launch a thoughtful
discussion of the extent of, and limits to, human empathy toward
animals. Akhtar’s book draws a sobering but hopeful picture of what
has been done and what remains to be done to improve animals’
lives."
*Publishers Weekly*
"In her eye-opening and touching account, Aysha Akhtar takes us
from one example to another of animals making our lives better.
Being there for us without judgment regardless of the
circumstances, animals have an immense healing power that science
is only beginning to grasp."
*Frans de Waal, author of Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What
They Tell Us about Ourselves*
"An important and illuminating work."
*Booklist*
"After reading Our Symphony with Animals, I suggest you spend some
time having a friendly talk with a sweet dog like Akhtar’s
childhood friend Sylvester. It will do both of you good."
*Washington Independent Review of Books*
"A timely and necessary book that sheds light on how far animals
will go to help us, and how much better we need to treat them in
return. This deeply affecting book reveals just how important
animals are to human health and happiness."
*Shelf Awareness*
"A memoir, an informational text, and a paean to the joys of
sharing our lives with animals."
*Bookreporter*
"This is a superb, captivating book. Combining memoir,
investigative journalism, and science, Aysha Akhtar has produced a
marvelous exploration of our troubled, evolving relationship with
animals. Themes of vulnerability, injustice, redemption, and love
are woven into a moving narrative that drew me in and kept me
hungrily turning the pages."
*Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of
Our Underwater Cousins*
"In her deeply personal and highly readable book, full of stories
that surely will move readers all over the place, Dr. Aysha Akhtar
seamlessly weaves humorous and touching moments along with the
latest research on animal-human relationships. She shows why the
development of close relationships with other animals that are
filled with trust, respect, compassion, empathy, and love are
mutually beneficial and a win-win for all. Highly recommended for a
global audience."
*Marc Bekoff, co-author of The Animals: Agenda: Freedom,
Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age*
"In a heartfelt and urgent call to action, Aysha Akhtar shows how
the lives of humans and animals are intertwined."
*Gregory Berns, author of How Dogs Love Us*
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