Friends for Life - Tapa dura

Full of anecdotal case-histories and told in her own unique voice, we see how Jan Fennell’s unique gifts have won her the admiration of dog lovers worldwide.

Jan Fennell's unique gift has won her an international following. Her books, The Dog Listener and The Practical Dog Listener were instant best-sellers, and she became a house-hold name through her international success. In her new book, Jan tells the story of the personal journey that led her to success – and the crucial part her canine companions played in her development.

Jan reveals her bond with dogs was forged amid the personal sadness of her childhood in London, an often traumatic period when it seemed Jan's beloved pets were her only source of unconditional love. She goes on to describe her experiences as a young mother, struggling to establish herself in an unfamiliar – and sometimes hostile – rural Lincolnshire community. Jan’s story eventually turns into a charming country tale – a self-sufficient idyll, inhabited by colourful characters – both human and canine. But when life deals her a series of blows it is her dogs, once more, who provide Jan with her strength and inspiration, and an unexpected new lease of life.

Friends For Life is filled with the charm, gentle humour and unquenchable humanity that so delights Jan’s fans. Its pages are alive with the scores of larger-than-life personalities – from clairvoyant Romany relatives to curmudgeonly farmers, happy-go-lucky circus bosses to saintly animal sanctuary owners – who have shaped Jan's eventful life.

Above all, however, it is the story of one woman's struggle against the odds, and the life-long love affair that has been the key to her survival and ultimate triumph.

'Jan Fennel may not have danced with wolves, but she's stood nose to nose with them – and if she was given half a chance, I'm sure she could make lions lie down with lambs.''Daily Record'

'Friends For Life' reveals the early part of Jan Fennell's amazing story and her search to discover where her true gifts lay and how to use them.

Growing up in London, in modest circumstances, in a complicated family – running from Romany relatives to a ring of powerful uncles, from beloved grandmothers to missing brothers. Jan Fennell always felt undervalued and unwanted by her parents. Her bond with animals, and in particular dogs – her own when she was allowed and strays – was her only source of unconditional love.

The move to living in the country, her marriage and the birth of her children seemed a wonderful dream come true. Neither Jan Fennell or her husband had ever lived in the country or had any idea what to expect. Her story of their adventures and mishaps, of the discovery of their neighbours and the struggle to adapt to ways and to put down roots is in turn funny, heart-warming and moving. 'Friends for Life' is peopled with wonderful characters – from the clairvoyant Romany grandmother whose instincts she seems to have inherited to curmudgeonly farmers who did not believe in her attitudes towards animals, from happy-go-lucky circus bosses to remarkable animal sanctuary owners – and of course with snapshots of the companions who entered her life.