Special Thanks to www.ReaderViews.com for this interview.
Dr. Iris Bell is a psychiatrist, university professor, and has been a researcher in areas related to complementary and alternative medicine for 30 years. She was chosen as one of the Best Doctors in the Pacific region of the US in 1996 and in the entire US in 1998. Her passion is to teach people who find themselves with a chronic illness and at the start of their own difficult journey, a way back home to themselves and better health. Through her studies she has amassed a remarkable amount of information about the human psyche - she understands the physiology and psychology of worry. Bell teaches, writes, and lives in Tucson Arizona with her three dogs Rosie, Harry, and Charlie.
Q: Your book sounds intriguing, would you give readers an idea of what your book is about?
A: Thanks very much, for the chance to tell you and your readers about the Chew on Things hard cover gift book. This full-color photo-essay is a humorous and inspirational explanation of how to cope with everyday life as seen through the eyes of my eccentric dog Casey, a soft-coated wheaten terrier. I called him Casey B. Worrywart, Dogtor of Philosophy, because of his combination of nervousness and soulfulness in how he behaved.
Casey was a worrier, he would hyperventilate, pace in and out of the room, chew on things like rocks, trees, flowers or vegetables - or buy time to think about what to do by diving most of his face into his water bowl and almost inhaling the water, whenever he encountered an unfamiliar situation, noise, person, or object. Most new things seemed to throw him into consternation. Yet, in spite of his fearfulness, he always found ways to enjoy life, especially through simple pleasures such as chasing tennis balls.
In photos, words from Casey, and relevant quotations from famous people, the book offers an entertaining perspective for us to realize that stress is in the eye of the beholder. The point is we all can become overwhelmed, but only if we allow ourselves to perceive something as stressful.
Q: Would you tell us how Casey came into your life and a little bit about him? What is your favorite memory of Casey?
A: Casey was my first dog as an adult. When I moved to Tucson for a tenure track position at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, I was finally able to buy my own house with a large fenced-in yard - and hoped that I would be able to stay put for a while.
I love dogs in general, but I wanted a hypoallergenic breed that didn't shed because of my own allergies. Eventually, I learned about soft-coated wheaten terriers, saw a picture of one in a dog book that made me smile (they are supposedly the clowns of the dog world), and searched around for a breeder who was expecting a new litter of puppies.
Breeders have extensive screening processes for prospective dog owners that seemed a little like what I had to go through for medical school interviews. Eventually, I got accepted as a new dog mom and drove up to northern Arizona to pick up my puppy, who was about 10 weeks old. My co-workers, who were also animal lovers, threw me a puppy shower before I left. It was very exciting and anxiety-provoking for him and me. I'd say that I hyperventilated all the way up to meet him for the first time, and he hyperventilated all the way back with all of the strange new experiences he was having away from his birthplace. My car even broke down on the trip so it added to the adventure.
Among the many great memories of Casey, one of my favorites was the day that he made a breakthrough as a puppy from playing small to playing big. He had been having all sorts of fun pulling out the short, thin plastic hoses from the drip system in the backyard that watered individual groupings of flowers. Every morning, he'd come to the back patio door with a little straw-like piece of the drip system in his mouth and delight in having me chase him all around the yard trying to get it back.
One day, after he had pulled up a most of the small pieces, I glanced out the window and saw that he was playing tug of war with the huge, long main feeder hose for the whole drip system that had been buried underground and spanned across much of the backyard. Sure, I yelled at him to stop. But, at the same time, I was impressed that he had stuck with it day after day, until he had hit his jackpot a kind of life lesson about doing the little steps that eventually add up to a big reward.
All I could do at that point was laugh, take a picture, and realize that I needed professional help from a dog trainer.
Q: Why did you decide to write this book?
A: Casey had a very eventful life of 14 years. After he died, I started off wanting to share his story of courage and miracles in how he responded to alternative medicine treatment for a life-threatening autoimmune disease that he had survived for more than four years longer than what the conventional vets had predicted.
However, as I pulled out old photos of him at different points in his life to jog my memory about his life story, I felt compelled to remember the good times by putting words to what I saw in each picture, just for my own comfort and reminiscence. Eventually these photos and words formed the beginnings of the Chew on Things. It Helps You Think book.
When I attended a book marketing conference to find publishing help for my own book on alternative medicine for patients with chronic illnesses, I discovered that the publishing professionals were far more excited about the amusing little dog book that I had started than my more serious alternative medicine book proposal. So, I developed the early draft into the Chew book with their help over the next year.
Q: Dr. Bell, what was the writing process like for you, reliving the precious moments with Casey, and pondering the depth of your human/animal relationship?
A: I smiled a lot. And it all came together with very little angst. When writing just flows, it comes from a source beyond the writer. Those are often the times when I know that there is a message that needs to get out to some as yet unknown reader(s), and it is my responsibility to shepherd it into the world for them.
Q: What is the underlying message of your book?
A: The book is actually a message of hope and encouragement to owners of fearful dogs and especially to people who worry a lot. Casey had lots of problems with his fears of the unfamiliar. But he also knew how to play and balance his life. He managed to have a good life in spite of the fearfulness that was part of his personality style. Yes, he needed help, and he got it. He didn't do it all on his own.
So often, we are impressed with amazing feats of accomplishment that other people achieve and we think that we could never aspire to similar levels because our circumstances, our lack of self-esteem, or fear of failure hold us back.
Casey never allowed any of that to stop him. Certainly, he pondered a lot and he watched and hung back but eventually, he did get out there into his world. As he said in the Chew book: Even if you're afraid of the world, at least explore your neighborhood.
He did, and his life was so much richer for taking the chance
