![\"Deb](\"http:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Deb-petting-cat.jpg\")
<\/a>I have always been fascinated by the Hemingway’s, as witnessed by me here petting one of the residing cats at Hemingway House in Key West.<\/p><\/div>When I am on the computer, I will have the TV on for some background noise. Normally I drown the chatter out while I am typing, but several weeks ago someone caught my attention when I heard her talking about why having a pet is so amazing and the unconditional love that they give to us. It happened to be Mariel Hemingway who is very close to my age and someone I had admired for many years as an actress, who is now an author and inspirational speaker.\u00a0 She was a guest on the Jeff Probst Show<\/a> talking about several projects she was working on, including her new book, The WillingWay<\/a>, which is dedicated to personal empowerment and living life to its fullest. She was also sharing the love letters she had written to her beloved dogs, Tree and Bindu, that were published in the popular book, A Letter To My Dog<\/a>.<\/p>\n For any of you that are familiar with the very famous Hemingway family, you know that Mariel has not always had an easy life and I immediately gravitated to the honest conversation she was sharing with Jeff about her difficult past, which included severe depression, and her now content place in time because I could see her transformational journey as my own. Mariel is a warm, happy, and confident woman whose personal triumph radiated though the television screen and she was absolutely glowing as she was discussing The WillingWay, which was written with her boyfriend Bobby Williams, athlete and nutrition expert, in which they ask this very simple question, \u201cIs your life out of tune?\u201d<\/p>\n Using that mindset, Mariel and Bobby inspire readers to create balance and joy by finding their own unique ways of living an amazing life and they give us the important\u00a0 message that we are all extraordinary and\u00a0 no matter where we are on this earth, that we have the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest, as happy and powerful beings!<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of A Letter To My Dog of Mariel with her beautiful dogs, Tree and Bindu.<\/p><\/div>I found the premise of The WillingWay and Mariel\u2019s love of animals intoxicating and I felt compelled to reach out to her to let her know that her message touched me deeply. My own book, The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey<\/a>, is about the love I have for my cats and how they brought me out of a very dark time in my life and made me a better person for it. The entire mantra of the Chronicles is \u201cto embrace the ordinary in life and make it extraordinary,\u201d so clearly I wanted to let her know that I connected with her positive message.<\/p>\n I was pleasantly surprised to get an email back from one of Mariel\u2019s associates, thanking me for my email and letting me know that Mariel was interested in reading Zee and Zoey\u2019s book which was a very touching moment for me. I then received another email from the folks who published the A Letter To My Dog book who had heard about my email to Mariel and they contacted me to let me know a book was in the works for cats and that maybe I would be interested in submitting a letter about one of my cats for possible publication in the book and they also extended the invitation to you, my dear readers, if any of you are interested.<\/p>\n And before you decide one way or another, please be aware that this is not a paid writing assignment. This is an opportunity to share your own personal love letter to your cat with the possibility of being published in A Letter To My Cat along with some other famous and prominent individuals.\u00a0 If your letter\u00a0\u00a0 is selected for publication, you would get the satisfaction of some really cool bragging rights as well as the knowledge a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit animals in need.<\/p>\n These are the guidelines \u2013 in 500 words or less, start your letter \u201cDear [name of cat(s)] and express what makes your relationship with them so special. Explore the love, joy, laughter and selflessness (or maybe selfishness) you have with them and sign it [Love, Mom…etc.].\u00a0 A few photos of your cat(s) would also be required and you would need to provide your full name, mailing address, phone number, email address and any website\/blog\/social media info and direct it to www.alettertomycat.com<\/a> for submission.<\/p>\n I think this is a great exercise even if you don\u2019t want to participate \u2013 I always write a love letter to any of my animals that pass on to the Rainbow Bridge, as it helps me in the healing process. The concept for the book is different in that your cat can still be in your life. I tackled a letter for my beloved feline-mate,\u00a0Zoey, and have to admit it is harder than I thought it would be. Finding the right 500 words or less to describe how much she means to me and how deeply my life has been affected because of her love and companionship is daunting to say the least.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just call it a work in progress \u2013 in the meantime, I thank A Letter To My Cat for reaching out to me and as a special treat from them, I was able to participate in a brief Q & A with Mariel and these are her answers which make me like her all the more!<\/p>\n Deb:<\/strong><\/span> Have you always had pets in your life and do you share any special bonds with cats? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Mariel:<\/strong><\/span> I loved my cat Kitsy when I grew up, but he was super independent– which basically means he was being a cat. But the real bond I have with a cat is with the one I have now with MOW… he is pure white, a real hunter, he is strong, fierce and we love one another madly. Mow is super sweet…. he never scratches when we play, though if he wanted to he could really hurt me with his claws. I am simply CRAZY about this cat. He is smart and sassy… and I love him.<\/em><\/p>\n Deb<\/strong>:<\/span> One of my favorite excerpts in your letter to Bindu is when you say, \u201cYou curled up next to my heart in the toughest of times.\u201d\u00a0 Just how important to our own health and well-being is the unconditional love we receive from our pets?<\/em><\/p>\n Mariel:<\/span> <\/strong>I have always had pets, and they are SUPER important to me. They have seriously been by me through the tough times. Especially Bindu. He was always with me and curled up next to me even when I was truly suffering from depression and scared about how to take action to change my life. He had a look in his eyes that reassured me that everything would be okay, and somehow I believed him.<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you Mariel – to listen to her letter to Bindu, check out this great video!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n