Independent Expression Radio

Gary Kowalski is a Unitarian Universalist minister in Burlington, VT. He holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. A native of Oklahoma, he has served churches in Memphis, Tennessee, and Seattle, Washington, before moving to Burlington. He is the author of several books, including Goodbye Friend: Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet.

In the revised second edition of this celebrated book, The Souls of Animals, Unitarian Universalist minister Gary Kowalski grapples with the big spiritual questions around our relationship with animals:

*Do animals have souls?

*Are they aware of death and are they conscious of themselves?

*Do animals have an inherent capacity to recognize beauty and can they create art?

*Do animals experience love?

*Do they know right from wrong? Why do birds sing?

*And ultimately what do we lose in a world without animals and what does that mean for our ongoing relationship with the creatures with which we share the world?

Kowalski offers beautifully written vignettes that shed light on these questions and much more. He explores how animals play, their sense of altruism, their capacity for love. By “desacrilizing” animals, Kowalski argues, we make ourselves less human. “If we are to keep our family homestead — Earth — safe for coming generations,” he writes, “we must awaken to a new respect for the family of life.”

“Gary Kowalski helps us unlock the mysteries of animal spirituality. For as we have learned from the companion animals that share our lives and our homes, when we look into their eyes we see the reflection of our won humanity.”

—Kim Stallwood, Executive Director, PETA

Join us for a discussion about the animal kingdom and what we can learn about ourselves and our world by taking a deeper look at the other living beings around us.