Local Authors Convey The Healing Power Of Dogs And A Healthy Home

Two new books outline ways that you can be empowered first by listening closely to the messages that pet dogs offer and second by removing the potential toxins from your house and your life.
Amanda Murphy, a “semi-retired RN,” so believes in the hidden power of dogs that she dedicates her first book, “The Gift is for You: The Healing Power of Canine Companions, Connection, and Courage” (Elm Grove Press, 2026) to her five dogs who helped her recover from early trauma.
“The Gift is for You” is partly an advice book and partly Murphy’s memoir about working “through the impacts of trauma.” Murphy, born in 1946, opens the book by telling us she was “neglected as an infant, abandoned as a toddler, and abused as a child…” Watching the hearings to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court incensed her and brought back a memory of a date rape in 1964, two years after she learned that she and her brother had been adopted.
On the one hand, trauma. On the other hand, dogs. In chapters interspersed among the chapters on her personal story, Murphy relates how dogs supported her along her path of recovery.
“My book is a living witness to my ongoing healing and an invitation to other seekers,” Murphy said during an email interview last week. She describes her book as “a hero’s journey of healing.”
Murphy’s first dog, Fritter, arrived in 1980. As she observes, “dogs are more honest and straightforward than people.” Their agendas are overt — a treat, a walk, a toy. They’re not judgmental. More than that, “my dogs’ ability to know me has contributed to my sense of being seen and heard, helping to heal childhood shortfalls,” she writes. And “dogs can help us heal childhood wounds by allowing us to treat them the way we wish to be treated.”
In other words, inviting dogs into our lives can be powerful.
“I want readers to be inspired and empowered, freeing themselves from limiting thoughts, beliefs and histories,” she says.
Murphy, who now lives in West Yarmouth, moved to Cape Cod in 2005. And while she no longer has her own dog, she says she often takes care of friends’ dogs to get her “dog fix.” She is a holistic nurse, a certified holistic stress management instructor, and certified empowerment trainer. For more information on her classes visit wellnesspaths.com.
Murphy will speak on “The Gift is for You” on Friday, Oct. 16 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Eldredge Public Library in Chatham. Books will be available for sale and refreshments will be served. To register, visit eldredgelibrary.org/programs/. The talk is for adults, as abuse will be mentioned.
When Lisa Martin’s husband Kevin was diagnosed with stage four cancer, Martin took a critical look at the world around her, starting with her house. She writes about this journey, both practical and spiritual, in “Our Healing Home: 360 Changes We Made When Cancer Arrived at Our Doorstep.” Martin is a retired CPA who, with her family, divides her time between Brewster and Milton.
“When cancer enters your life, so much suddenly feels outside of your control,” she says. “I hope readers come away realizing that there are still things they can do, changes they can make in their homes and daily routines that help them feel more empowered and engaged in their own healing journey. You may not be able to control the diagnosis, but you don’t have to feel helpless.”
Looking through her house with new eyes, she saw plastic everywhere, especially in the kitchen where she used plastic spatulas, cups and even plates. She threw out Teflon-coated pans and moved on to the “health risks of household cleaners” and the “hidden dangers of candles.”
While some of Martin’s changes are common sense — bring someone with you to medical appointments, eat healthier foods, get sufficient sleep — other changes are more exotic, such as this: consider a heavy metal detox/liver cleanse. (This is easier than it sounds as it basically revolves around eating fresh, organic parsley.) The book touches upon all aspects of life including spirituality, finances and planning for retirement. Altogether, as the title indicates, the Martins made 360 changes to their house, habits and lives.
The book, illustrated by Martin’s daughter Meghan, offers room for the reader to fill in his or her own observations and accomplishments. The journaling prompts help patients and caregivers to “feel more engaged and less overwhelmed during a difficult time.” 
Two years out from his grim diagnosis, Kevin shows no evidence of disease. As well as following Kevin’s treatment plan, the family became active participants in his healing journey, making one meaningful change at a time.
“I would love to see more people creating healthier homes, more companies putting our health at the center of the products they make, and more people advocating for better products and better insurance coverage,” Martin says.
“Our Healing Home” is available through Amazon.com where it attained the “#1 Amazon New Release in Cancer” status during the preorder period. One hundred percent of the profits go to cancer research.