Homer, An Eyeless Cat, Teaches Love And Courage with Gwen Cooper

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This is an adventure story of a blind cat, Homer, and a woman finding one another, and the lessons this relationship taught her. Homer survived being trapped, without Cooper, for days after 9/11 in an apartment near the World Trade Center, and even saved Cooper's life when he chased an intruder, who broke into their home in the middle of the night. But it was Homer's unswerving loyalty, his infinite capacity for love, and his joy in the face of all obstacles that inspired Cooper daily and transformed her life. She says, "I was very ashamed of myself that here was this kitten whose three weeks of life were so much worse than anything I had gone through. And, he was so happy and joyful and accepting of the world and people. It wasn't even just that he was cute or little or that he was helpless and he needed me. I wanted to be as good a person as he was, as silly as that sounds because he was a cat. That was really the moment when I had that epiphany. I knew I had to take him home with me." (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Gwen Cooper spent five years working in nonprofit administration, marketing, and fundraising. She coordinated volunteer activities on behalf of organizations, including Pet Rescue, The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, the Miami Rescue Mission, and His House Children's Home, and initiated Reading Pen Pals, an elementary school-based literacy program in Miami's Little Haiti. She now lives in New York City.

She is the author of the New York Times bestseller:

• Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat (Bantam Books 2010)

To learn more about the work of Gwen Cooper go to www.gwencooper.com.

Topics Explored in This Dialogue

• How Cooper fell in love with a three-week old blind kitten
• How Homer got his name
• How Homer adapted to Cooper's other two cats
• How this amazing blind cat, Homer, figures out his space
• How Homer chased a burglar out of her apartment and down the street
• How Homer changed Cooper's attitude about love
• What travails 9/11 created for Homer and Cooper, who lived three blocks from the World Trade Center

Host: Michael Toms     Interview Date: 11/20/2010     Program Number: 3391

Music Playlist

From Album: American Acoustic
Artist: Nancy Rumbel & Eric Tingstad
1998 Narada 72438-45862-2-5

Opening Essay: Track 08 Secrets of the Big Sky
Music Break 1: Track 02 Alligator Alley
Music Break 2: Track 03 Give and Take
Music Break 3: Track 01 Shenoandoah