The Path Before Me (Paperback)

Description

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Young and young at heart readers at any level who have a love for animals and pets of their own will be drawn to this story. It’s heartfelt message provides a sense of social and emotional learning for all readers in order to understand emotions, compassion, empathy for others, and the value of hope; all elements relevant to developing a healthier society and making the future a better place. This book would be a welcome addition to any family library and any classroom for pet-loving readers.
Patches, an abandoned kitten born in a cold, damp basement in a small New England town on the coast of Maine, embarks upon a quest to not only find a forever home but to also understand his loss of family. Within a few months of being born, his siblings are given away to other homes and, on a freezing winter day, his father disappears in a nearby forest and never returns. When he is tossed aside by an uncaring owner and abandoned, Patches begins a journey to survive and search for a new home. During his odyssey, Patches befriends two cats, three rats, a deer mouse, a crow, and a peculiar, homeless man named Tate, all of whom have a significant impact on his life and in their own way teach Patches about empathy, compassion, and the value of hope.
A violent gale-driven blizzard, a life-threatening fire, the jaws of a steel trap, and the discovery of an ancient graveyard are all life changing events that lead Patches to the answers he seeks about his loss of family and to bring about a new beginning. This story of a cat’s resolve to create a new pathway and attain a better life offers an insightful philosophy about overcoming foreboding obstacles. His arduous journey is a thought-provoking story for all to share.

About the Author

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Russell H. Plante is an Engineering Physicist with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine, a Minor in Electrical Engineering, and post-graduate courses in Business Administration. He has held positions at the Department of Defense as a Branch Head in Control Engineering, Welding Engineering, and Quality Control Engineering Analysis. During his tenure at the DOD, he was appointed by the University of Maine Physics Department to provide an industrial perspective relative to education. Maintaining additional engineering positions in Solar Energy development and analysis, he has received awards for Solar Building Engineering Design from the State of Maine Office of Energy Resources and for Energy Innovation Technologies from the U.S. Department of Energy. With a diverse writing background, he has had two academic/nonfiction publications regarding photovoltaic and solar domestic hot water energy applications published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and Academic Press (Elsevier). In addition to his non-fiction works, he has had a Young Adult novel, “Journey Home – A Cat’s Tale”, published in 2016 and an Adult-Visionary political novel, “Beware the Dither Bird”, published in 2018. His second novel was an award-winning Finalist in the Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest and received the 2020 Finalist Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal Book Award in the category for the most thought-provoking novel. “A Sense of Purpose” is his third novel. He has recently completed his fourth novel, "The Path Before Me” and is currently writing a philosophical Science Fiction novel. He resides in the State of Maine with his wife Kathy and seven cats where there’s always a chance of a blizzard during the cold winter months and time to contemplate and create meaningful stories. Reviews and information regarding his books are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, website (www.russellhplante.com), LinkedIn, Goodreads, and a Facebook Author Page.