I wrote It’s All The Same Forest as a poem (and yes, it rhymes!) back when I was carrying a lot of anticipatory grief about one day having to say goodbye to my soulmate cat, Squiggles.

Years later, after she passed, the poem took on a deeper meaning. In the thick of my grief, I decided to illustrate it myself, by looking at photos of her and letting emotion guide each image. A year and a half later, I had a finished book.

Making it was how I got through the first year without her. It’s my story, and an invitation to create something inspired by the love you have for your pet.