A Journey Across Continents
During the pandemic's isolating early days, a woman moved to Italy with her husband, seeking a new beginning. In a small apartment in a Mediterranean town, she adopted three kittens: Stellina, Tommy, and Eros. These three soft souls became her anchor in a chaotic world—her source of unconditional love and comfort.
"When I met them at three months old, I promised myself with 100% certainty that we would always be together. They were my first pets, my first experience with this kind of love."
For two years, Italy became home. The dream of a new life—starting a business, building a future—seemed within reach. But dreams are fragile. Economic realities, bureaucratic obstacles, and the pull of career opportunities forced an impossible choice: return to Canada.
It was during this time that Eros, one of the three cats, arrived at her door—sick, frightened, and abandoned. His story of healing and transformation became a profound lesson in resilience and unconditional love, a journey she documented in her blog post, "Cat Therapy Is Real — What My Three Cats Taught Me About Healing."
The departure was a trauma. Leaving her cats behind felt like abandonment, a betrayal of the sacred promise she had made. Though she hired a caretaker, the physical distance became an emotional chasm. For four years, she lived with this ache—a void that nothing seemed to fill.
Back in Canada, her marriage strained under the weight of unspoken sorrow. Her extended family shamed her for prioritizing her pets, for the intensity of her grief. Society's judgment forced her to internalize her pain, to suffer in silence. But in that silence, something awakened: a creative voice that would transform her suffering into art.
