Audio only
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses
Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears MourningBy s. e. smithNarrated by Em GroslandLength9h 31m
About this audiobook
"Both a grief book that doesn't read like a clinician's notes and a memoir wrapped around a bigger subject, All My Dead Cats takes grief from the taboo to the universal." — Booklist
Have you suffered a loss? How was your life changed by the grief you experienced? Mourning is a personal experience and shouldn't be judged. There are no do-overs in death, but there are do-betters.
All My Dead Cats is not a book about pet loss. You will meet award-winning journalist and debut author s.e. smith’s cats and read small slices of their stories. Their vignettes serve as an opening to scary conversations about loss, so grief can feel less intimidating and more relatable.
This is a book about grief and mourning as collective activities best undertaken in community. S.e. interviews dozens of experts—from death doulas to funeral home directors to therapists and psychologists—and discusses the different stages of grief. The shared perspectives help us understand that grief is not fixable but it can be livable. They teach us that if we have the courage, which begins with honest conversations about how we navigate grief, then we can learn how to do better.
After reading you'll better understand:
Disenfranchised grief and how you can be part of the solution and not the problem
How to be an advocate for people subjected to trauma and violence
The stages of grief and how to process your experiences
Grief is not over once the body is neatly disposed of, the rubble of the house has been taken away in dumpsters, the final fit on the prosthesis is done, the law is passed and withstands legal challenges, or when the permanent peace is brokered. It is an ongoing shift in our relationship to the world, and one that deserves attention and care as well as time and space to be amongst fellow mourners, to whom we do not need to justify or explain, because they understand where we are.
Readers will feel seen rather than being chastised for how they grieve and better understand how to process mourning--and how to help others. All My Dead Cats provides an entry point, by beginning the conversation about a beloved pet, so readers can think about the larger stakes of death and live a more fulfilled life.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (11)
Includes Goodreads
GenreSelf-Help, Biography and Memoir, Science and Nature
Length9 hrs 31 mins
Narrated byEm Grosland
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 28, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Autism Out Loud: the instant New York Times Bestseller. Moving Stories and Parenting Lessons Learned from Three Mothers of Children with AutismKate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, Adrian Wood8h 41m4.8 (2.1K)$26 · $0.00
365 Days of Hope and Healing for Your Body, Mind, and SoulJoan Hunter8h 48m4.9 (158)$10 · $0.00
Rewrite the Mother CodeDr. Gertrude Lyons10h 55m4.9 (144)$25
The Best of Les Brown Audio CollectionLes Brown8h 12m4.7 (1.8K)$65
Swayam Ki AwaazPrem Rawat8h 34m4.7 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00
Finding Your VoiceMannette Morgan8h 10m4.8 (187)$20
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
AretéBrian Johnson19h 57m4.7 (2.2K)$35
Spiritual AnatomyDaaji Kamlesh D. Patel9h 47m4.7 (319)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
Ghetto BastardK’wan7h 37m4.6 (2.9K)$20
Legally YoursManasi Chaudhari8h 52m4.7 (223)$29 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m4.6 (4.9K)$26 · $0.00
Life on the BridgeKaelynn Partlow5h 40m4.6 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
From Questioning to KnowingLisa Barnett5h 34m4.7 (244)$17
Keep Your Love OnDanny Silk9h 4m4.6 (8.1K)$10 · $0.00
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
Defying JihadEsther Ahmad8h 50m4.7 (4.8K)$20
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
Left for DeadEbony Canion5h 34m4.7 (2.2K)$17
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$0.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
A Bridge Not Too FarDeepak Ohri4h 55m4.8 (179)$15
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
Scandal Between the Sheets & Stranded with the Tempting StrangerBrenda Jackson9h 22m4.8 (141)$24 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
LiftoffEric Berger9h 4m4.6 (9.5K)$29 · $0.00
Distant SkiesMelissa A. Priblo Chapman12h 39m4.7 (379)$23
ApolloCharles Murray, Catherine Bly Cox18h 15m4.6 (3.9K)$30
The Story of BirdsSteve Brusatte11h 49m4.6 (401)$29 · $0.00
Black Earth WisdomLeah Penniman11h 54m4.6 (577)$8 · $0.00
Crystals for BeginnersKaren Frazier3h 49m4.5 (45.6K)$20
What If? 10th Anniversary EditionRandall Munroe7h 29m4.5 (41.4K)$23
Total Cat MojoJackson Galaxy10h 13m4.5 (8.4K)$23 · $0.00
Earth at NightNational Aeronautics and Space Administration2h 26m4.7 (196)$1 · $0.00
My Life Among the UnderdogsTia Torres5h 51m4.5 (4K)$24 · $0.00
What It Takes to Save a LifeKwane Stewart6h4.6 (556)$24 · $0.00
Pastoral SongJames Rebanks8h 35m4.5 (12K)$26 · $0.00
How Stella Learned to TalkChristina Hunger7h4.5 (10.9K)$24 · $0.00
Craig & FredCraig Grossi8h 6m4.5 (9.6K)$26 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m4.6 (330)$24 · $0.00
WildingIsabella Tree12h 22m4.5 (13.4K)$23
Saving JemimaJulie Zickefoose4h 59m4.5 (749)$20 · $0.00
The Complete Dog Training, Care, & Health GuideDr. Olivia Grace7h 22m4.8 (44)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
Socrates in the CityEric Metaxas14h 54m4.3 (697)$25 · $0.00
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and AnimalsCharles Darwin10h 26m4.1 (13.5K)$2 · $0.00
Organ SpeakGiulia Enders8h 53m4.2 (1.5K)$29 · $0.00
Breathe In, Breathe OutStuart Sandeman11h 39m4.3 (2K)$29 · $0.00
The Mindful DayLaurie J. Cameron8h 15m4.1 (2.8K)$20
The Anatomy of MelancholyRobert Burton49h 26m4.2 (5K)Free
Reasons Not to WorryBrigid Delaney8h 25m4.1 (3.2K)$26 · $0.00
The Elephant Man and Other ReminiscencesFrederick Treves4h 58m4.1 (745)$1 · $0.00
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?Julie Smith7h 16m4.2 (109.1K)$24 · $0.00
ReligionArthur Schopenhauer3h 11m4.0 (1.2K)$21 · $0.00
The Grieving BrainMary-Frances O'Connor8h 2m4.3 (5.8K)$26 · $0.00
Soul TherapyThomas Moore8h 4m4.2 (364)$26 · $0.00
A Matter of Death and LifeIrvin D. Yalom MD, Marilyn Yalom6h 39m4.4 (12.1K)$17
Life on PurposeVictor J. Strecher5h 34m3.9 (2.1K)$24 · $0.00
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't DoAmy Morin6h 36m4.0 (42.7K)$7 · $0.00
The SignsTara Swart, MD, PhD5h 44m4.3 (1.4K)$24 · $0.00
The Wilderness of GriefAlan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D1h 19m4.3 (421)$10 · $0.00
The Architecture of HappinessAlain de Botton4h 41m4.0 (18.1K)$12
End Anxiety!James G. Meade PhD7h 17m$17 · $0.00
Economic Fundas Episode 1 - Vietnam and Bad Marriages: The Sunk Cost FallacyAmit Varma, Vivek Kaul38m$4